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.