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.