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.