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.