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.