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£&^/~.¨..¨ 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 ,¨¨,.,.«\=
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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 ¨¨..,~*§&£
$$/-.,.¨¨¨ SAFELY FORWARD, EVERY NIGHT. ¨¨¨.,.-/$$
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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 ,.,~\$$§@#
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#¶¤$=†-:,. REORDERED, SOME NAMES I HAVE NEVER .,:-†=$¤¶#
£@%§/=-.¨. 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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