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.