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.