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.