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.