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.