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.