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.