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.