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.