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.