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.