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.