137 night in the woods - gazing at adina astra and kol the mountaineer

Dear Readers,

More star hunting with Mr. Chazokov! This time I didn't even scream when I looked too soon into the telescope.

We found Adina Astra. I reacted and he asked if I knew this one. I said I did! He said it was a common story, about the frozen lake, about traversing unknown faraway lands... I said I was very into Adina stories when I was a kid. He said I must then know what became of her and I said yeah. In her quest she turned her back on the sky and journeyed down into the earth where her stars were no longer above her head and she was never seen again. He asked me wasn't it sad and I said "Yeah. I mean, she probably died.". He said she did many amazing things so it wasn't sad to die having done so much. I said I guess but it still sucked, dying and all. He said it was a shame.

We then found Kol The Mountaineer. I said I knew a guy named Cole once and that was close? He said it was. I asked what was up with this guy and he said Kol was from a flat land. I asked if it was this Midwest and he said it was whatever the Midwest of wherever he was from was. I said everywhere had a Midwest and he said that was true. He said Kol devoted his life to climbing mountains and I asked if it was because his hometown was flat? He then asked if this wasn't a common instinct, to seek that which is unlike where one grows up. I said "Not really." and that I liked home and my neighbourhood and the bad diner food. He agreed it wasn't good and I said it was good bad like a story your friend wrote and gave you to read. He said he liked the disco fries. I asked what happened to Kol and he said he returned home and complained that the sky felt heavy. He had been up into the clouds and now they rested hard upon him. I said that was a really specific complaint and he said when one leaves a place, one brings something back when one returns. I said one and he said one also... then he said that was enough for today and I said that was nice.

I said the stars were pretty sweet and he was in agreement. I sketched Kol and Adina with a few stars and wrote their names alongside them too in my journal.

I made smalltalk with him again and he said I should go home and get in bed. I said nah. He then said at least come down through the house so I don't break my neck falling off a roof. I said I was good. He said he will watch me go and call the ambulance if needed. I thanked him and said that was really nice of him. He said it was the least he can do.

Wow yeah he's worried too. Everyone is saying how tired I look. From my perspective as a player I don't really see it on Mae's face unless she's talking with her parents. But yeah, all this ghost stuff is a full time gig and is very wearing. Dreams every night too. Crazy crazy dreams.