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.