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.