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.