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.