¨^~;**§###                                          ###§**;~^¨
¨,,-†%£##@                                          @##£%†-,,¨
.,,^«\%$¤#                                          #¤$%\«^,,.
¨¨¨,,~;§¤&                                          &¤§;~,,¨¨¨
.,¨.,:-:$%                                          %$:-:,.¨,.
¨¨,¨,.,~:* .   .   =   ^              /   ~   ,   ¨ *:~,.,¨,¨¨
,¨.,,..:~*  ,   .   »   †            ^   «   ~   ,  *~:..,,.¨,
,,,,..,.,»   ¨   -   =   \          ^   =   ~   ¨   »,.,..,,,,
,.,¨.¨,,¨.    ¨   -   »   \        :   »   :   ¨    .¨,,¨.¨,.,
¨..,,.,¨.,                                          ,.¨,.,,..¨
.,..,.,¨., 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.                                ¨,,¨¨¨,...
¨¨.,¨¨,.¨,                                          ,¨.,¨¨,.¨¨
,,¨,¨,,.,~ .¨¨ ¨. ¨~^~. ., ..¨                      ~,.,,¨,¨,,
¨..¨¨¨¨:«/ ,¨¨ ,¨ ¨~^-. ,¨ ¨¨,                      /«:¨¨¨¨..¨
¨,¨¨¨¨~«*$ ,., ¨¨ ¨«†», ¨¨ ...                      $*«~¨¨¨¨,¨
¨¨,,¨^~;%$ ¨., .¨ ,=/-, .¨ ¨.¨                      $%;~^¨,,¨¨
.,,¨:»†$£¤ .,¨ ¨¨ ¨~;~, ,, ¨,¨                      ¤£$†»:¨,,.
.¨,:-/^*&@ .¨, ., .-/»¨ ¨¨ ,.,                      @&*^/-:,¨.
..,-†=*&£# .¨, ,, .-^~. ¨. ,,,                      #£&*=†-,..
¨--:*£&### ¨.¨ .¨ ,»;~¨ ,. ,¨¨                      ###&£*:--¨
¨.,»/^&###                                          ###&^/»,.¨
¨,,.-†^$£# 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.                                 ¤%\~:¨.,¨.
¨,¨¨¨,,~/$                                          $/~,,¨¨¨,¨
¨,.¨.¨.-~;                                          ;~-.¨.¨.,¨
¨¨,¨.,¨.:«                                          «:.¨,.¨,¨¨
¨.¨..,.,.~                                          ~.,.,..¨.¨
¨,¨.¨,,,.¨                                          ¨.,,,¨.¨,¨
¨,,¨¨,,,¨¨                                          ¨¨,,,¨¨,,¨