,.,.¨--**£                                          £**--¨.,.,
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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.                               %^~-¨.,¨..
¨.,.¨,=\$@                                          @$\=,¨.,.¨
¨,,,:»;§£& the others think i'm  young, they  don't &£§;»:,,,¨
,.¨^-=%£&# take  me  seriously  and  i  fear   they #&£%=-^¨.,
.,^»*^%££# snicker  a  bit.  you  usually  get  old #££%^*»^,.
¨,»†§§¤### before you  learn  the  trade enough  to ###¤§§†»,¨
,.~«==*&@# take  other people. but i do  lead  them #@&*==«~.,
¨..,~†*£§# safely     forward,     every     night. #§£*†~,..¨
,.,.:-\*£¤                                          ¤£*\-:.,.,
¨¨,¨.,»\§£ however,  currently  there  seems to  be £§\»,.¨,¨¨
.,¨¨,.:~=% something going on ahead.  those  around %=~:.,¨¨,.
,.¨..¨,,== the  corner   have  stopped,   shouting, ==,,¨..¨.,
.,¨¨¨¨,¨~= pointing.                                =~¨,¨¨¨¨,.
,.,¨.,,,.,                                          ,.,,,.¨,.,
,,¨,...,.¨ ¨¨, ¨. ,»:=¨ ¨¨ ¨¨¨                      ¨.,...,¨,,
¨,.,.,¨¨., ,,¨ ,. ¨-\», ¨, ,,.                      ,.¨¨,.,.,¨
...,..¨,¨. ,.. .. ,-*=¨ .¨ ,¨¨                      .¨,¨..,...
¨,,..¨.,,, .., ,, ¨=\~¨ ,, ..,                      ,,,.¨..,,¨
,¨.¨..,.~- ,¨, ¨. ,-*=¨ .¨ ¨,,                      -~.,..¨.¨,
¨.¨,...~== ¨,. ¨¨ ¨»:-¨ .. ¨¨.                      ==~...,¨.¨
¨....,,~*$ ¨., .. ,-/=. ,¨ ,,,                      $*~,,....¨
¨.,.,:=/*¤ .,, .¨ ,-=~¨ ¨¨ ,..                      ¤*/=:,.,.¨
,¨,.,~;%£#                                          #£%;~,.,¨,
,,.-»^^§#£ my greatest treasure, the                £#§^^»-.,,
.¨-~^$£#@# 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.                                 ##¶¤$**«:,
,,:»=*%@£@                                          @£@%*=»:,,
,.,,=\§££@                                          @££§\=,,.,
¨¨¨.^~\*¤#                                          #¤*\~^.¨¨¨
¨..,,.=:†£                                          £†:=.,,..¨
,,.,,¨,~=$                                          $=~,¨,,.,,
,,,,,..,»†                                          †»,..,,,,,