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.