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.