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.