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.