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.