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.