##@§%†;~:¨ ¨:~;†%§@##
@§%%†;:¨¨¨ ¨¨¨:;†%%§@
@§†;~~~:¨¨ ¨¨:~~~;†§@
@§§%††;~:¨ ¨:~;††%§§@
@@#§%†;~:¨ ¨:~;†%§#@@
#@#§%†;~:¨ ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ¨:~;†%§#@#
##%;;;~¨¨¨ ¨¨¨~;;;%##
@#§†;;~¨¨¨ 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) ¨:~;†%§###
§††††;:¨¨¨ ¨¨¨:;††††§
§§%†~¨¨¨¨¨ ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; ¨¨¨¨¨~†%§§
§%††;;:::¨ ¨:::;;††%§
#@#§%†;~:¨ ¨:~;†%§#@#
#@#§%†;~:¨ ¨:~;†%§#@#
@@#§%†;~:¨ ¨:~;†%§#@@
###§%†;~:¨ ¨:~;†%§###