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.