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.