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.