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.