....^«^%$£                                          £$%^«^....
.....^«^%$                                          $%^«^.....
......^«^%                                          %^«^......
.......^«^                                          ^«^.......
........^«                                          «^........
.........^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^.........
..........                                          ..........
..........          MOUSE GIRL LIKES SHOES          ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                ^  ^  ^  ^                ..........
..........                                          ..........
.......... IN THIS  DREAM I  WAS  A  GIRL OF  MAYBE ..........
.......... SIXTEEN YEARS, TOGETHER WITH MY  DAD  IN ..........
.........^ A  HUGE  BATH  HOUSE  /  SPA  / HOTEL  / ^.........
........^« SHOPPING CENTRE.       DAD WAS CONSTATLY «^........
.......^«^ POINTING OUT HOT GIRLS TO ME.  "YOU  SEE ^«^.......
......^«^%   THAT BLACK-HAIRED THING DISSAPEARING   %^«^......
.....^«^%$ 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) ..........
..........                                          ..........
.......... ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ..........
..........                                          ..........
..........                                          ..........
.........^                                          ^.........
........^«                                          «^........
.......^«^                                          ^«^.......