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.