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.