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.