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.