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.