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.