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.