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.