~~~~
~^^ ^^~
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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. ..^~**£###
##£**~^... ...^~**£##
#£**~^.... ....^~**£#
£**~^..... .....^~**£
**~^...... ......^~**
£**~^..... .....^~**£