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.