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##@@$*^~,, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ,,~^*$@@##
###@@$*^~, ,~^*$@@###
##@@$*^~,, MOUSE GIRL LIKES SHOES ,,~^*$@@##
#@@$*^~,,, ,,,~^*$@@#
@@$*^~,,,, ^ ^ ^ ^ ,,,,~^*$@@
@$*^~,,,,, ,,,,,~^*$@
$*^~,,,,,, IN THIS DREAM I WAS A GIRL OF MAYBE ,,,,,,~^*$
*^~,,,,,,, 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 ,,,,,,,~^*
$*^~,,,,,, THE STARS WERE GLITTERING. BEING ,,,,,,~^*$
@$*^~,,,,, CLOSED, THE GARDEN HAD ITS LIGHT TURNED ,,,,,~^*$@
@@$*^~,,,, OFF, BUT WE COULD STILL SEE OUR WAY ,,,,~^*$@@
#@@$*^~,,, AROUND BY THE LIGHT SHINING DOWN FROM ,,,~^*$@@#
##@@$*^~,, THE WINDOWS OF THE HIGHER FLOORS. ,,~^*$@@##
###@@$*^~, ,~^*$@@###
##@@$*^~,, SHE LAY DOWN IN A PATCH OF GRASS. I SAT ,,~^*$@@##
#@@$*^~,,, DOWN ON MY KNEES, AND THEN CRAWLED ,,,~^*$@@#
@@$*^~,,,, CLOSER. SHE LAUGHED AT ME AGAIN, AND ,,,,~^*$@@
@$*^~,,,,, SAID - ,,,,,~^*$@
$*^~,,,,,, ,,,,,,~^*$
*^~,,,,,,, ^ ^ ^ ^ ,,,,,,,~^*
^~,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,~^
~,,,,,,,,, (HERE I AM AWAKENED BY THE MORNING CREW) ,,,,,,,,,~
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,,,,,,,,,, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ,,,,,,,,,,
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