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.