#¤=~~-¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨-~~=¤#
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¶§††††~¨¨¨ ¨¨¨~††††§¶
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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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¶¤§=~--¨¨¨ ¨¨¨--~=§¤¶
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