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.