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.