««««
«^^ ^^«
\^ ^\
.....^«\§& ............ \ \ ............ &§\«^.....
....^«\§&@ \^ ^\ @&§\«^....
...^«\§&@# «^^ ^^« #@&§\«^...
..^«\§&@## «««« ##@&§\«^..
.^«\§&@### ###@&§\«^.
..^«\§&@## 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. &§\«^.....
......^«\§ §\«^......
.......^«\ \«^.......
........^« «^........
.........^ ^.........
........^« «^........