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.