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.