#@@¤@*/=,, ,,=/*@¤@@#
#@@¤@*/=,, ,,=/*@¤@@#
@@@/,,,,,, ,,,,,,/@@@
@¤¤@**/=,, ,,=/**@¤¤@
#@@¤@*/=,, ,,=/*@¤@@#
¤@/=,,,,,, //////////////////////////////////////// ,,,,,,=/@¤
#@@¤@*/=,, ,,=/*@¤@@#
#@@¤@*/=,, 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) ,,=/*@¤¤¤¤
¤¤¤*=,,,,, ,,,,,=*¤¤¤
#@@¤@*/=,, //////////////////////////////////////// ,,=/*@¤@@#
#@@¤@*/=,, ,,=/*@¤@@#
¤¤**/=,,,, ,,,,=/**¤¤
@¤¤*/,,,,, ,,,,,/*¤¤@
@¤**=,,,,, ,,,,,=**¤@
@¤@@@*/=,, ,,=/*@@@¤@