~~~~                             
                          ~--    --~                          
                        †-          -†                        
.-~~~††%§§ ............ †            † ............ §§%††~~~-.
.-~†%%§¶##              †-          -†              ##¶§%%†~-.
.-~†%%%%§#                ~--    --~                #§%%%%†~-.
.-~†%%¶###                   ~~~~                   ###¶%%†~-.
.-~†%%§¶##                                          ##¶§%%†~-.
....~%%%¶# The  River  That'S  Our  River  Makes  A #¶%%%~....
.-~†%%%§§§ Large Bend Like  A  Scooping  Hand And A §§§%%%†~-.
....-†%%%§ Decent  Days  Travel   North  From  That §%%%†-....
.....-†%§# Stands Our  House  In  The  Middle Of  A #§%†-.....
....--†%§# Forgotten Apple  Orchard.  Our  House Is #§%†--....
.-~†%%§¶## Built  Of Dark Clay And  Abandoned By  A ##¶§%%†~-.
....--†%§# Stranger. The  Window Has No  Glass  But #§%†--....
.....~††%§ Instead Steel  Bars  To Keep The Animals §%††~.....
.-~†%%§¶##                   Out.                   ##¶§%%†~-.
.-~†%%§§§#                                          #§§§%%†~-.
..--~%%%%¶ Around  The  House  Is  A  Thick,  Thick ¶%%%%~--..
.-~†%%§¶## Brush Of Ferns  And  Bushes.  There Live ##¶§%%†~-.
.-~†%§¶### The Animals That We Fight  To Keep Away, ###¶§%†~-.
..-~~%%%%§ For  They  Speak  To Us To  Join Them In §%%%%~~-..
-~†%%§¶### The Luscious  Caves  Below  Ground. They ###¶§%%†~-
.-~†%%§¶## Mean No  Harm But  It Is Not In Our Best ##¶§%%†~-.
.-~†%%§¶## Interest To Do So.  There  Is  Important ##¶§%%†~-.
.-~~†††%§# Work That  Needs To Be Done, And It Cant #§%†††~~-.
.-~††††%%¶ Be Done By Animals. (Father Says  This.) ¶%%††††~-.
.-~†%%§¶##                                          ##¶§%%†~-.
.-~†%%§¶¶¶ Every  Morning  Our  Father  Clears  The ¶¶¶§%%†~-.
.-~†%%§¶## Ferns And  Uproots  The Bushes Only  For ##¶§%%†~-.
....-†%§¶# Them  To  Grow  Back Each  Night.  Their #¶§%†-....
.....--†%¶ Leaves  Are Teal, White And Yellow, Some ¶%†--.....
....-†%%§¶ Even The Color  Of Wine. They Have Lilac ¶§%%†-....
....--~†%§ Flowers And In The Morning They  Are Wet §%†~--....
.-~†%%§¶##                With Dew.                 ##¶§%%†~-.
.---~~†%§¶                                          ¶§%†~~---.
......-†%§ Father  Is  Away During  The  Day  Doing §%†-......
.-~††††%%§ Important Things  Elsewhere. He Is Weary §%%††††~-.
....--~~%§ When He Returns  Home, Each  Day More So §%~~--....
...~~†††%§ Than The Next. We  Learn To Cook For Him §%†††~~...
.-~†%%§¶## So That He Does Not Have  To. We Tend To ##¶§%%†~-.
....-~††%§               His Clothes.               §%††~-....
.-~†%%§§§#                                          #§§§%%†~-.
....---†%¶ Suddenly The Dense  Bushwork Is Mirrored ¶%†---....
.-~†%%§¶## Inside. Stems And  Leaves  Appear  Close ##¶§%%†~-.
.-~†%%§§§§ To The Walls And Far From The Light.  We §§§§%%†~-.
.-~†%%§¶## Are Glad, For  The Flowers Are Beautiful ##¶§%%†~-.
.-~†%%§§§§ And Smell  Good,  And  There  Is  Little §§§§%%†~-.
.-~†%%§### Decoration   In  Our   House.  But  When ###§%%†~-.
...--†%%%¶ Father  Comes Home He Is  Angry And Cuts ¶%%%†--...
.-~†%%§¶¶# Them  All  Down  In  A  Frenzy.  We  Are #¶¶§%%†~-.
...--††%%¶            Scared Of Him Then.           ¶%%††--...
.-~~~†%%%§                                          §%%%†~~~-.
.-~†%§¶### We  Are  Then Tasked  With  Removing Any ###¶§%†~-.
......~†%§ Indoor  Plant  We  See. But They Are  So §%†~......
.-~†%%§¶## Beautiful!  We  Wait Just  Until  Father ##¶§%%†~-.
.-~†%%§¶## Comes  Home  And  Until  Then  We  Enjoy ##¶§%%†~-.
.-~†%%§¶## Them. Sometimes An Animal  Will Sneak In ##¶§%%†~-.
.....-~~%§ But We Always Shoo Them  Out. With Fresh §%~~-.....
....-~%§§§ Cut  Flowers  Thrown  Right Outside  The §§§%~-....
.-~†%%§¶¶¶ House  He   Suspects   And  Resents  Our ¶¶¶§%%†~-.
.....-†%%§ Inaction.  But   He  Doesn'T  Have   The §%%†-.....
.-~†%%§¶## Energy To Scold Us. He  Weakens Quickly. ##¶§%%†~-.
.....-†%§¶ It Is Not Long Before He  Is Still Tired ¶§%†-.....
.-~†%%§¶¶# Even    In   The    Morning   And   Must #¶¶§%%†~-.
...~††%%%§    Reluctantly Leave The Outdoor Weed    §%%%††~...
.-~†%%¶### Cutting To Us  As  Well, Untrusting That ###¶%%†~-.
.....-~~%§           We Will Carry It Out.          §%~~-.....
.-~†%%§¶##                                          ##¶§%%†~-.
......-~%§ Now He Leaves As  Soon As He'S Awake And §%~-......
.-~†%%§¶## Falls Asleep As Soon  As  He Returns. We ##¶§%%†~-.
.....-~%§# Are  Left  To Care For Us And The  House #§%~-.....
.-~††%%%§# And  The  Orchard. But It Is Hard And We #§%%%††~-.
...-~%%%¶¶ Are   Distracted.   We    Are   Not   As ¶¶%%%~-...
.-~††%%§§§ Persistent  As  Father And  Quickly Fall §§§%%††~-.
...~~†%%§¶          Behind In Our Duties.           ¶§%%†~~...
.-~†%%§¶##                                          ##¶§%%†~-.
...~††%§§§                                          §§§%††~...
.....~†%¶#                                          #¶%†~.....
...-~†%%¶#                                          #¶%%†~-...
....-~~†%§                                          §%†~~-....