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.