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.