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.