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.