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.