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.