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.