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.