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.