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.