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.