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.