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.