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.