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.