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.