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.