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.