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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 .,-;^£@¤&§
#$†~.¨¨,,, the night. ,,,¨¨.~†$#
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#@£#&*\»:, 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. ¨¨¨..==&¤£
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#¶£@^:~-^¨ for it seems like there's a new moon in ¨^-~:^@£¶#
¶%†%^~«..¨ the sky. ¨..«~^%†%¶
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