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.