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.