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.