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.