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.