###§$§:~., ,.~:§$§###
##§$§:~.,, ,,.~:§$§##
#§$§:~.,,, ,,,.~:§$§#
§$§:~.,,,, ,,,,.~:§$§
$§:~.,,,,, ,,,,,.~:§$
§:~.,,,,,, :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ,,,,,,.~:§
:~.,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,.~:
~.,,,,,,,, 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 - ,,,,,,,.~:
~.,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,.~
:~.,,,,,,, : : : : ,,,,,,,.~:
§:~.,,,,,, ,,,,,,.~:§
$§:~.,,,,, (HERE I AM AWAKENED BY THE MORNING CREW) ,,,,,.~:§$
§$§:~.,,,, ,,,,.~:§$§
#§$§:~.,,, :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ,,,.~:§$§#
##§$§:~.,, ,,.~:§$§##
###§$§:~., ,.~:§$§###
##§$§:~.,, ,,.~:§$§##
#§$§:~.,,, ,,,.~:§$§#
§$§:~.,,,, ,,,,.~:§$§