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.