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.