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##¶£$^/=,¨ //////////////////////////////////////// ¨,=/^$£¶##
¶£$/,,,¨¨¨ ¨¨¨,,,/$£¶
¶£$$/,¨¨¨¨ MOUSE GIRL LIKES SHOES ¨¨¨¨,/$$£¶
#@¶£$^/=,¨ ¨,=/^$£¶@#
#@¶£$^/=,¨ / / / / ¨,=/^$£¶@#
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@££^/,¨¨¨¨ 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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