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.