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.