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.