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.