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£§^*~~.¨,, AS WE CROSS THE MOUNTAIN, WE CAN WALK ,,¨.~~*^§£
&=*~.,..¨¨ ONLY AT NIGHT. LONG AGO, SOMEONE HERE ¨¨..,.~*=&
†^«:.....¨ MUST'VE ANGERED THE SUN, AND TODAY IT ¨.....:«^†
\~:.¨.¨,¨¨ STILL BURNS US STRANGELY. BUT WITH THE ¨¨,¨.¨.:~\
=~¨,,¨..,, SUNSET THE AIR COMES RAINING BACK DOWN ,,..¨,,¨~=
,,,.,¨¨.¨. AND GETS THICK ENOUGH TO BREATHE. IT .¨.¨¨,.,,,
..,.¨..,¨. CARRIES WITH IT SMELLS FROM FAR AWAY, .¨,..¨.,..
-....,,¨.¨ COLOURFUL SPARKS FOR THE IMAGINATION, A ¨.¨,,....-
~....,,¨.. SHARP CONTRAST FOR THE STALE BLACK OF ..¨,,....~
\«~¨..¨.,. THE NIGHT. .,.¨..¨~«\
†:~-¨,¨,,¨ ¨,,¨,¨-~:†
§*:~^.,.,¨ THE OTHERS THINK I'M YOUNG, THEY DON'T ¨,.,.^~:*§
¤£=\=-.,¨¨ TAKE ME SERIOUSLY AND I FEAR THEY ¨¨,.-=\=£¤
@§$†*=,,,¨ SNICKER A BIT. YOU USUALLY GET OLD ¨,,,=*†$§@
#@&%%;=-¨¨ BEFORE YOU LEARN THE TRADE ENOUGH TO ¨¨-=;%%&@#
##@§£*†~., TAKE OTHER PEOPLE. BUT I DO LEAD THEM ,.~†*£§@##
##&$*=»-.. SAFELY FORWARD, EVERY NIGHT. ..-»=*$&##
@#£==~:,,. .,,:~==£#@
£%*^~-¨,,, HOWEVER, CURRENTLY THERE SEEMS TO BE ,,,¨-~^*%£
&%=»:.,.., SOMETHING GOING ON AHEAD. THOSE AROUND ,..,.:»=%&
^\-,,¨¨.,¨ THE CORNER HAVE STOPPED, SHOUTING, ¨,.¨¨,,-\^
/«~.,¨¨¨,, POINTING. ,,¨¨¨,.~«/
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#@¤†;~:,¨¨ ¨¨,:~;†¤@#
##¤§^/«,¨, MY GREATEST TREASURE, THE ,¨,«/^§¤##
###&¤*^-,, BOOK OF STARS, IS A COMBINED MAP, ,,-^*¤&###
#@&¤†/«,.. CALENDAR AND TIMEPIECE AS LONG AS YOU ..,«/†¤&@#
##*%:»..,, KNOW WHAT YEAR IT IS. EVERY PAGE IS A ,,..»:%*##
&%%*»-.¨.. GRID OF NINE STARFIELDS, HAND DRAWN, ..¨.-»*%%&
£%^».,..¨. BELOW WHICH ARE WRITTEN COORDINATES IN .¨..,.»^%£
**~~¨...,. BOTH SPACE AND TIME. A LOT OF IT IS .,...¨~~**
/~.,,,,¨¨¨ APPLICABLE ON EARTH, BUT NOT ALL. IT ¨¨¨,,,,.~/
~:,¨,¨,¨.. HINTS OF OTHER PLACES - SOME STARS ..¨,¨,¨,:~
,¨¨,,¨,¨,. REORDERED, SOME NAMES I HAVE NEVER .,¨,¨,,¨¨,
,.,,.,,,¨, HEARD. SOMETIMES THE DATES ARE ,¨,,,.,,.,
,¨¨¨..,,,. IMPOSSIBLE. .,,,..¨¨¨,
~.¨¨,.¨,,, ,,,¨.,¨¨.~
=~.,,.,.¨¨ THOSE PAGES ARE EXACTLY WHAT I SCRAMBLE ¨¨.,.,,.~=
$*»^¨¨¨..¨ FOR RIGHT NOW. I'VE STOPPED BREATHING. ¨..¨¨¨^»*$
$*=~,,,¨¨¨ I SLING OPEN THE BOOK OF STARS A BIT ¨¨¨,,,~=*$
£&%*~.,¨,. TOO QUICK, SPILLING ALL MY NOTES ON THE .,¨,.~*%&£
##$§*~^¨,, GROUND. ONE LANDS ON MY FOOT, IT IS A ,,¨^~*§$##
#@&%=/=.¨¨ DRAWING OF A MUSCLE COW, BUT I COULD ¨¨.=/=%&@#
###§@=:~.¨ CARE LESS RIGHT NOW. ¨.~:=@§###
##¤%%†»,.¨ ¨.,»†%%¤##
@#¤%†=,.., FOR IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A NEW MOON IN ,..,=†%¤#@
£$†:»,,,.¨ THE SKY. ¨.,,,»:†$£
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