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.