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.