....,~:^£§                                          §£^:~,....
...,~:^£§#                                          #§£^:~,...
..,~:^£§##                                          ##§£^:~,..
.,~:^£§###                                          ###§£^:~,.
..,~:^£§##                                          ##§£^:~,..
...,~:^£§# :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: #§£^:~,...
....,~:^£§                                          §£^:~,....
.....,~:^£          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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.....,~:^£                                          £^:~,.....