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.