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.