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@£$%=~:¨¨¨ ======================================== ¨¨¨:~=%$£@
£$%=~:¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨:~=%$£
$%=~:¨¨¨¨¨ MOUSE GIRL LIKES SHOES ¨¨¨¨¨:~=%$
%=~:¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨:~=%
=~:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ = = = = ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:~=
%=~:¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨:~=%
$%=~:¨¨¨¨¨ IN THIS DREAM I WAS A GIRL OF MAYBE ¨¨¨¨¨:~=%$
£$%=~:¨¨¨¨ SIXTEEN YEARS, TOGETHER WITH MY DAD IN ¨¨¨¨:~=%$£
@£$%=~:¨¨¨ A HUGE BATH HOUSE / SPA / HOTEL / ¨¨¨:~=%$£@
#@£$%=~:¨¨ SHOPPING CENTRE. DAD WAS CONSTATLY ¨¨:~=%$£@#
##@£$%=~:¨ POINTING OUT HOT GIRLS TO ME. "YOU SEE ¨:~=%$£@##
#@£$%=~:¨¨ THAT BLACK-HAIRED THING DISSAPEARING ¨¨:~=%$£@#
@£$%=~:¨¨¨ BEHIND THE CLOTHES RACK? OOF!" HE'D ¨¨¨:~=%$£@
£$%=~:¨¨¨¨ SAY. HE WAS ALWAYS VERY CREEPY ABOUT ¨¨¨¨:~=%$£
$%=~:¨¨¨¨¨ THIS, GOING FOR GIRLS MY AGE. ¨¨¨¨¨:~=%$
%=~:¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨:~=%
=~:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ 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) ¨¨¨¨¨¨:~=%
=~:¨¨¨¨¨¨¨ ¨¨¨¨¨¨¨:~=
%=~:¨¨¨¨¨¨ ======================================== ¨¨¨¨¨¨:~=%
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