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...:~;%% ............ ; ; ............ #&%%;~:...
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........:~ 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. #&%%;~:...
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