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.