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.