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.