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.