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.