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.