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.