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.