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.