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.