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.