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.