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.