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.