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.