¨,~\*@¤¶## ##¶¤@*\~,¨
¨,~\*@¤¶¶# #¶¶¤@*\~,¨
¨,~\*@¶### ###¶@*\~,¨
¨¨¨,~\*¤¶# #¶¤*\~,¨¨¨
¨,~\*@¤¶## ##¶¤@*\~,¨
¨,~\*@¤¶## \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ##¶¤@*\~,¨
¨,~\*@¤¶## ##¶¤@*\~,¨
¨¨¨¨,\\@¤¤ 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) ##¶¤@*\~,¨
¨¨¨¨¨¨~*¤¤ ¤¤*~¨¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨~*@¤¶ \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ¶¤@*~¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨¨~\*@¶ ¶@*\~¨¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨,,~*¤# #¤*~,,¨¨¨¨
¨¨¨¨~~~*@¶ ¶@*~~~¨¨¨¨
¨,~\**@¤¤# #¤¤@**\~,¨
¨¨¨¨,,~*¤# #¤*~,,¨¨¨¨