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.