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.