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.