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.