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.