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.