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.