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.