#@¶#$**-^, ,^-**$#¶@#
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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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