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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 ¨¨^-/*@£@@
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§£$/~~..¨¨ COLOURFUL SPARKS FOR THE IMAGINATION, A ¨¨..~~/$£§
&*\»:,..,. 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 ¨¨..¨.~~=%
%$;»^,¨¨,. SAFELY FORWARD, EVERY NIGHT. .,¨¨,^»;$%
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#&$§\-,... HOWEVER, CURRENTLY THERE SEEMS TO BE ...,-\§$&#
#£@%%\«~¨, 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. ..-~^%%¤¶#
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#£¤$*/~~¨¨ FOR IT SEEMS LIKE THERE'S A NEW MOON IN ¨¨~~/*$¤£#
¶#%^;~,¨,. THE SKY. .,¨,~;^%#¶
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