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.