~~~~                             
                          ~::    ::~                          
                        †:          :†                        
###¤$%†~:. ............ †            † ............ .:~†%$¤###
###¤$%†~:.              †:          :†              .:~†%$¤###
###¤$%†~:.                ~::    ::~                .:~†%$¤###
#¤%†:.....                   ~~~~                   .....:†%¤#
###¤$%†~:.                                          .:~†%$¤###
¤$†~...... The  River  That'S  Our  River  Makes  A ......~†$¤
###¤$%†~:. Large Bend  Like A Scooping  Hand And  A .:~†%$¤###
¤¤%~...... 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.           .:~†%$$$¤¤
###¤$%†~:.                                          .:~†%$¤###
¤$†:::....                                          ....:::†$¤
¤$$$$%†~:.                                          .:~†%$$$$¤
#$$$%%†~:.                                          .:~†%%$$$#
¤%†:......                                          ......:†%¤