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.