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.