~~~~                             
                          ~^^    ^^~                          
                        /^          ^/                        
##¶@%*/~^. ............ /            / ............ .^~/*%@¶##
¶¶@%%*/~^.              /^          ^/              .^~/*%%@¶¶
##¶@%*/~^.                ~^^    ^^~                .^~/*%@¶##
##¶@%*/~^.                   ~~~~                   .^~/*%@¶##
@%/^......                                          ......^/%@
##¶@%*/~^. The  River  That'S  Our  River  Makes  A .^~/*%@¶##
#¶%//^.... Large Bend  Like A Scooping  Hand  And A ....^//%¶#
##¶@%*/~^. Decent  Days  Travel  North  From   That .^~/*%@¶##
##¶@%*/~^. Stands  Our  House In  The Middle  Of  A .^~/*%@¶##
@%/^...... Forgotten  Apple Orchard.  Our House  Is ......^/%@
#@%//^.... Built  Of Dark Clay  And  Abandoned By A ....^//%@#
¶%*~^^.... Stranger.  The Window  Has No Glass  But ....^^~*%¶
##¶@%*/~^. Instead  Steel Bars To Keep The  Animals .^~/*%@¶##
###@%*/~^.                   Out.                   .^~/*%@###
###@%*/~^.                                          .^~/*%@###
##¶@%*/~^. Around  The  House  Is  A  Thick,  Thick .^~/*%@¶##
¶¶@***/~^. Brush Of Ferns  And Bushes.  There  Live .^~/***@¶¶
@%*/^^.... The Animals That  We Fight To Keep Away, ....^^/*%@
¶¶@*//^... For They Speak  To  Us To  Join  Them In ...^//*@¶¶
¶@*~^..... The Luscious  Caves  Below Ground.  They .....^~*@¶
###¶@*/~^. Mean No Harm  But It Is Not In  Our Best .^~/*@¶###
#¶¶@%*/~^. Interest  To  Do So. There Is  Important .^~/*%@¶¶#
##¶@%*/~^. Work  That Needs To Be Done, And It Cant .^~/*%@¶##
##¶@%*/~^. Be Done By  Animals. (Father Says This.) .^~/*%@¶##
@*~.......                                          .......~*@
#@%%/^.... Every  Morning  Our  Father  Clears  The ....^/%%@#
#¶@@%*/~^. Ferns And  Uproots  The Bushes Only  For .^~/*%@@¶#
@@**/^^... Them To  Grow  Back  Each  Night.  Their ...^^/**@@
###@%*/~^. Leaves Are Teal, White  And Yellow, Some .^~/*%@###
¶@@@%*/~^. Even The Color Of  Wine. They Have Lilac .^~/*%@@@¶
#@@%%*/~^. Flowers And In The  Morning They Are Wet .^~/*%%@@#
###¶@*/~^.                With Dew.                 .^~/*@¶###
##¶@%*/~^.                                          .^~/*%@¶##
¶%%//~^^^. Father  Is Away  During  The  Day  Doing .^^^~//%%¶
###¶@%*/~. Important  Things Elsewhere. He Is Weary .~/*%@¶###
##¶@%*/~^. When  He Returns  Home, Each Day More So .^~/*%@¶##
###¶@%/~^. Than The Next. We Learn To Cook  For Him .^~/%@¶###
¶%/~...... So That He Does Not  Have To. We Tend To ......~/%¶
#@*//~....               His Clothes.               ....~//*@#
@*/~^.....                                          .....^~/*@
@@@@%*/~^. Suddenly The Dense Bushwork  Is Mirrored .^~/*%@@@@
#¶¶@%*/~^. Inside. Stems  And  Leaves  Appear Close .^~/*%@¶¶#
###¶@*/~^. To The Walls And Far From The Light.  We .^~/*@¶###
###¶@*/~^. Are Glad, For The Flowers Are  Beautiful .^~/*@¶###
###¶@*/~^. And  Smell  Good,  And  There Is  Little .^~/*@¶###
¶@*/~..... Decoration  In  Our   House.  But   When .....~/*@¶
##¶@%*/~^. Father Comes Home  He Is Angry And  Cuts .^~/*%@¶##
##¶@%*/~^. Them  All  Down  In  A  Frenzy.  We  Are .^~/*%@¶##
##¶@%*/~^.           Scared Of Him Then.            .^~/*%@¶##
###¶@%/~^.                                          .^~/%@¶###
#@*~^..... We Are  Then  Tasked With  Removing  Any .....^~*@#
¶%%/^..... Indoor  Plant  We See.  But  They Are So .....^/%%¶
¶%%%/^^... Beautiful!  We  Wait  Just  Until Father ...^^/%%%¶
#¶¶@%*/~^. Comes  Home  And  Until  Then  We  Enjoy .^~/*%@¶¶#
@@@@%*/~^. Them.  Sometimes An Animal Will Sneak In .^~/*%@@@@
#@*///^^^. But We Always Shoo Them Out. With  Fresh .^^^///*@#
##¶@%*/~^. Cut  Flowers Thrown  Right  Outside  The .^~/*%@¶##
##¶@%*/~^. House  He  Suspects   And  Resents   Our .^~/*%@¶##
#@%*~^.... Inaction.  But  He   Doesn'T   Have  The ....^~*%@#
###¶@*/~^. Energy To Scold Us. He Weakens  Quickly. .^~/*@¶###
¶¶¶@%*/~^. It Is Not Long Before He  Is Still Tired .^~/*%@¶¶¶
##¶@%*/~^. Even   In   The   Morning    And    Must .^~/*%@¶##
#@@%*/~...    Reluctantly Leave The Outdoor Weed    ...~/*%@@#
##¶@%*/~^. Cutting To Us  As  Well, Untrusting That .^~/*%@¶##
¶¶%%%*/~^.          We Will Carry It Out.           .^~/*%%%¶¶
¶@*~......                                          ......~*@¶
#@*//~.... Now He Leaves As Soon As He'S Awake  And ....~//*@#
¶@%/^^.... Falls Asleep  As Soon As  He Returns. We ....^^/%@¶
##¶@%*/~^. Are Left To  Care For  Us  And The House .^~/*%@¶##
##¶@%*/~^. And The Orchard.  But  It Is Hard And We .^~/*%@¶##
#@@**//~^. Are   Distracted.   We    Are   Not   As .^~//**@@#
##¶@%*/~^. Persistent  As Father  And  Quickly Fall .^~/*%@¶##
¶¶¶@%*/~^.          Behind In Our Duties.           .^~/*%@¶¶¶
##¶@%*/~^.                                          .^~/*%@¶##
##¶@%*/~^.                                          .^~/*%@¶##
#¶@*/~....                                          ....~/*@¶#
¶@*~~^....                                          ....^~~*@¶
##¶@%*/~^.                                          .^~/*%@¶##