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.