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.