**†=,..... .....,=†**
*†=,...... ......,=†*
†=,....... .......,=†
=,........ ........,=
,......... .........,
.......... †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† ..........
.......... ..........
.......... 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) .....,=†**
£**†=,.... ....,=†**£
££**†=,... †††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††††† ...,=†**££
#££**†=,.. ..,=†**££#
##££**†=,. .,=†**££##
#££**†=,.. ..,=†**££#
££**†=,... ...,=†**££
£**†=,.... ....,=†**£