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.