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.