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§£%~»,¨,¨¨ ¨ ~ - ^ : - ^ , ¨¨,¨,»~%£§
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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. ,,.:,~=«*§
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&*%†=»«..¨ 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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