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.