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.