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.