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.