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.