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.