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.