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.