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.