##¶£&$\«.¨                                          ¨.«\$&£¶##
#¶££&$\«.¨                                          ¨.«\$&££¶#
£$«¨¨¨¨¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨«$£
##¶£&$\«.¨                                          ¨.«\$&£¶##
##¶£&$\«.¨                                          ¨.«\$&£¶##
¶&&&&$\«.¨ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ¨.«\$&&&&¶
¶£$$\«««.¨                                          ¨.«««\$$£¶
##¶£&$\«.¨          Mouse girl Likes Shoes          ¨.«\$&£¶##
¶£$««....¨                                          ¨....««$£¶
##¶£&$\«.¨                \  \  \  \                ¨.«\$&£¶##
##¶£&$\«.¨                                          ¨.«\$&£¶##
###¶£&\«.¨ In  This Dream I  Was  A  Girl  Of Maybe ¨.«\&£¶###
##¶£&$\«.¨ Sixteen  Years, Together With My  Dad In ¨.«\$&£¶##
##¶£&$\«.¨ A  Huge  Bath  House  / Spa  /  Hotel  / ¨.«\$&£¶##
##¶£&$\«.¨ Shopping centre.       Dad Was Constatly ¨.«\$&£¶##
##¶£&$\«.¨ Pointing Out Hot Girls To Me.  "You  See ¨.«\$&£¶##
£&$««.¨¨¨¨   That Black-Haired Thing Dissapearing   ¨¨¨¨.««$&£
##¶£&$\«.¨ Behind  The  Clothes  Rack?  Oof!"  He'D ¨.«\$&£¶##
¶&&\\.¨¨¨¨ Say.  He  Was Always Very  Creepy  About ¨¨¨¨.\\&&¶
##¶£&$\«.¨ This,    Going   For   Girls   My   Age. ¨.«\$&£¶##
##¶£&$\«.¨                                          ¨.«\$&£¶##
#¶££&$\«.¨ This  Night  He Had Just Tried To Woo  A ¨.«\$&££¶#
¶¶£&\...¨¨ Girl He  Called A "Mouse"  By Buying Her ¨¨...\&£¶¶
###¶£&\«.¨ Shoes, But She  Had Accepted  Them  Only ¨.«\&£¶###
##¶£&$\«.¨ To Run Away  Immediately Afterward.  Dad ¨.«\$&£¶##
£££&\\.¨¨¨ Was   A  Bit  Bummed   But   Dropped  It ¨¨¨.\\&£££
##¶£&$\«.¨ Quickly.  I Said Goodnight  To  Him  And ¨.«\$&£¶##
##¶£&$\«.¨       Went Looking For The Mouse.        ¨.«\$&£¶##
##¶£&$\«.¨                                          ¨.«\$&£¶##
¶¶¶£&$\«.¨ The Building Was Enormous And  Mazelike. ¨.«\$&£¶¶¶
¶&&$««.¨¨¨ Walls, Floors  And  Pillars Were Set  In ¨¨¨.««$&&¶
##¶£&$\«.¨ Green  Marble. Throughout The House  Ran ¨.«\$&£¶##
££££&$\«.¨ A  Main Boulevard,  Wide  As  A  Street, ¨.«\$&££££
###£&$\«.¨ Framed With Clay Vases  Dark As Obsidian ¨.«\$&£###
££$$«¨¨¨¨¨ 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) ¨.«\$&£¶##
££$$\..¨¨¨                                          ¨¨¨..\$$££
¶&\\««.¨¨¨ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ¨¨¨.««\\&¶
¶££$\\««.¨                                          ¨.««\\$££¶
##¶£&$\«.¨                                          ¨.«\$&£¶##
##¶£&$\«.¨                                          ¨.«\$&£¶##
###£&$\«.¨                                          ¨.«\$&£###
¶¶¶£&$\«.¨                                          ¨.«\$&£¶¶¶