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.