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.