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.