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.