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.