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.