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.