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.