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.