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.