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.