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.