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.