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.