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.