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.