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.