,,~~=$@¤£# #£¤@$=~~,,
,~~=$@¤£## ##£¤@$=~~,
,,~~=$@¤£# #£¤@$=~~,,
,,,~~=$@¤£ £¤@$=~~,,,
,,,,~~=$@¤ ¤@$=~~,,,,
,,,,,~~=$@ ======================================== @$=~~,,,,,
,,,,,,~~=$ $=~~,,,,,,
,,,,,,,~~= MOUSE GIRL LIKES SHOES =~~,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,~~ ~~,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,~ = = = = ~,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, IN THIS DREAM I WAS A GIRL OF MAYBE ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, SIXTEEN YEARS, TOGETHER WITH MY DAD IN ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, A HUGE BATH HOUSE / SPA / HOTEL / ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, SHOPPING CENTRE. DAD WAS CONSTATLY ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,~ POINTING OUT HOT GIRLS TO ME. "YOU SEE ~,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,~~ THAT BLACK-HAIRED THING DISSAPEARING ~~,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,~~= BEHIND THE CLOTHES RACK? OOF!" HE'D =~~,,,,,,,
,,,,,,~~=$ 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. @$=~~,,,,,
,,,,,,~~=$ $=~~,,,,,,
,,,,,,,~~= SHE LAY DOWN IN A PATCH OF GRASS. I SAT =~~,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,~~ DOWN ON MY KNEES, AND THEN CRAWLED ~~,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,~ CLOSER. SHE LAUGHED AT ME AGAIN, AND ~,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, SAID - ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, = = = = ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,, (HERE I AM AWAKENED BY THE MORNING CREW) ,,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,,~ ~,,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,,~~ ======================================== ~~,,,,,,,,
,,,,,,,~~= =~~,,,,,,,
,,,,,,~~=$ $=~~,,,,,,
,,,,,~~=$@ @$=~~,,,,,
,,,,~~=$@¤ ¤@$=~~,,,,
,,,~~=$@¤£ £¤@$=~~,,,