@@@††/«¨¨¨ ¨¨¨«/††@@@
##@@@†/«,¨ ¨,«/†@@@##
@@@/««¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨««/@@@
#@@@/«,¨¨¨ ¨¨¨,«/@@@#
@@@@†/,¨¨¨ ¨¨¨,/†@@@@
##@@@†/«,¨ //////////////////////////////////////// ¨,«/†@@@##
##@@@†/«,¨ ¨,«/†@@@##
#@@††/,,,¨ 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) ¨,«/†@@@##
#@@†««¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨««†@@#
##@@@†/«,¨ //////////////////////////////////////// ¨,«/†@@@##
##@@@†/«,¨ ¨,«/†@@@##
@@@††«¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨«††@@@
##@@@†/«,¨ ¨,«/†@@@##
#@@@@†/«,¨ ¨,«/†@@@@#
##@@@†/«,¨ ¨,«/†@@@##