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.