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.