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.