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.