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.