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....,††£ £#&††,....
.,«†*#£@ MOUSE GIRL LIKES SHOES @£##&*†«,.
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.,«†£@## † † † † ##@£#&†«,.
.,«†*£@@ @@£#&*†«,.
.......«*# IN THIS DREAM I WAS A GIRL OF MAYBE #*«.......
.,«†*£@# SIXTEEN YEARS, TOGETHER WITH MY DAD IN #@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*£@# A HUGE BATH HOUSE / SPA / HOTEL / #@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*£@# SHOPPING CENTRE. DAD WAS CONSTATLY #@£#&*†«,.
...,«†#£ POINTING OUT HOT GIRLS TO ME. "YOU SEE £##&†«,...
.,«†*£££ THAT BLACK-HAIRED THING DISSAPEARING £££#&*†«,.
.,,«††*#£@ BEHIND THE CLOTHES RACK? OOF!" HE'D @£#*††«,,.
.....«*#£@ SAY. HE WAS ALWAYS VERY CREEPY ABOUT @£#*«.....
...««†††*# THIS, GOING FOR GIRLS MY AGE. #*†††««...
.,«†*£@@ @@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*&£@## THIS NIGHT HE HAD JUST TRIED TO WOO A ##@£&*†«,.
.,«†*£## GIRL HE CALLED A "MOUSE" BY BUYING HER ##£#&*†«,.
......«*#@ SHOES, BUT SHE HAD ACCEPTED THEM ONLY @#*«......
.,«†*£@# TO RUN AWAY IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARD. DAD #@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*£@@ WAS A BIT BUMMED BUT DROPPED IT @@£#&*†«,.
.......«*# QUICKLY. I SAID GOODNIGHT TO HIM AND #*«.......
.,«†*##£ WENT LOOKING FOR THE MOUSE. £###&*†«,.
.,«†*££@ @££#&*†«,.
.,«†*&&& THE BUILDING WAS ENORMOUS AND MAZELIKE. #&&&&*†«,.
...,††*&&£ WALLS, FLOORS AND PILLARS WERE SET IN £&&*††,...
.,,,,««†*# GREEN MARBLE. THROUGHOUT THE HOUSE RAN #*†««,,,,.
..,«†*&&&£ A MAIN BOULEVARD, WIDE AS A STREET, £&&&*†«,..
......«*## FRAMED WITH CLAY VASES DARK AS OBSIDIAN ##*«......
.,«†*#£@## AND TALLER THAN A PERSON. IN EACH VASE ##@£#*†«,.
.,«†*&£@## WAS PLACED UPRIGHT A LEAF FROM A PALM ##@£&*†«,.
.,«†*£@# TREE OR GIANT FERN. THE BOULEVARD WAS #@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*£@# DIMLY LIT, WHICH ALLOWED THE POOLS THAT #@£#&*†«,.
.....««†&£ WERE GENEROUSLY SPRINKLED THROUGHOUT £&†««.....
.,«†*£@# EACH FLOOR WOULD REFLECT SUGGESTIVE #@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*£@# PATTERNS ON THE MARBLE. #@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*£@# #@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*@## † † † † ##@#&*†«,.
.,«†††**#@ @#**†††«,.
.,«†*£@# FOLLOWING THE BOULEVARD, TWO FLOORS UP #@£#&*†«,.
.,«†††**#@ I FOUND HER CRYING BEHIND TWO FERN @#**†††«,.
.,«†*£@# VASES. SHE WAS BEAUTIFUL, AND AS I #@£#&*†«,.
.....«**#£ APPROACHED, SHE LOOKED UP AND SNIVELED. £#**«.....
.,«†*#£@ IN THE NEAREST VASE SHE HAD STUFFED @£##&*†«,.
.,«†*##@ BOTH THE SHOES. @###&*†«,.
.,«†*£@# #@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*£@@ I TOLD HER TO FOLLOW, BUT SHE DIDN'T @@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*&£@## MOVE OR SPEAK. SO INSTEAD I SAID TO ##@£&*†«,.
....,,«*## STAY THERE, AND RAN TO GET HER A BETTER ##*«,,....
.,«†*££@ PAIR OF SHOES THAT SHE WOULD ACTUALLY @££#&*†«,.
..,,†**@ LIKE. WHEN I RETURNED, HAVING SPENT @#&**†,,..
......,†&£ MORE THAN I COULD REALLY AFFORD, SHE £&†,......
...,«†*# WAS VISIBLY IMPRESSED. I TRIED TO SOUND ##&*†«,...
.....«††&£ COOL, SAYING SOMETHING LIKE "WHAT DO £&††«.....
..,«††££ YOU THINK, JUST BECAUSE A GIRL HAS A ££#&††«,..
...,,«†& FREAKY DAD, SHE DOESN'T HAVE TASTE?" #&&†«,,...
.,«†*£@# BUT MOUSE GIRL JUST LAUGHED AT ME. #@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*£@# #@£#&*†«,.
.....,,† SHE THEN TOOK ME BY THE HAND AND LED ME #&†,,.....
....,†*&£@ OUT A SIDE ROUTE TO A CLOSED-OFF @£&*†,....
.,†*£@## ROOFTOP WALKING GARDEN, FULL OF JUNIPER ##@£#&*†,.
.,«†*£@# AND THUJA. IT WAS A LATE EVENING, AND #@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*£## THE STARS WERE GLITTERING. BEING ##£#&*†«,.
.,«†*£@# CLOSED, THE GARDEN HAD ITS LIGHT TURNED #@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*@## OFF, BUT WE COULD STILL SEE OUR WAY ##@#&*†«,.
.,«†*£@# AROUND BY THE LIGHT SHINING DOWN FROM #@£#&*†«,.
.,«†*£@# THE WINDOWS OF THE HIGHER FLOORS. #@£#&*†«,.
....,«†@ @#&†«,....
...,,,«*&£ SHE LAY DOWN IN A PATCH OF GRASS. I SAT £&*«,,,...
..,,«**&&£ DOWN ON MY KNEES, AND THEN CRAWLED £&&**«,,..
...««***#£ CLOSER. SHE LAUGHED AT ME AGAIN, AND £#***««...
.,†*£@## SAID - ##@£#&*†,.
.,«†*£@# #@£#&*†«,.
......«† † † † † #&†«......
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.,«†£@## (HERE I AM AWAKENED BY THE MORNING CREW) ##@£#&†«,.
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