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.