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.