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.