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.