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.