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.