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.