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.