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.