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.