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.