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.