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.