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.