£=:~^..... .....^~:=£
@£=:~^.... ....^~:=£@
#@£=:~^... ...^~:=£@#
##@£=:~^.. ..^~:=£@##
###@£=:~^. .^~:=£@###
##@£=:~^.. :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ..^~:=£@##
#@£=:~^... ...^~:=£@#
@£=:~^.... 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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