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.