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.