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.