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.