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.