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.