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.