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.