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.