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.