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.