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.