~~~~
~:: ::~
^: :^
..:~^$&¤@# ............ ^ ^ ............ #@¤&$^~:..
.:~^$&¤@## ^: :^ ##@¤&$^~:.
..:~^$&¤@# ~:: ::~ #@¤&$^~:..
...:~^$&¤@ ~~~~ @¤&$^~:...
....:~^$&¤ ¤&$^~:....
.....:~^$& The River That'S Our River Makes A &$^~:.....
......:~^$ 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 $^~:......
.......:~^ Falls Asleep As Soon As He Returns. We ^~:.......
........:~ Are Left To Care For Us And The House ~:........
.........: And The Orchard. But It Is Hard And We :.........
.......... Are Distracted. We Are Not As ..........
.......... Persistent As Father And Quickly Fall ..........
.......... Behind In Our Duties. ..........
.........: :.........
........:~ ~:........
.......:~^ ^~:.......
......:~^$ $^~:......
.....:~^$& &$^~:.....