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.