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.