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.