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.