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.