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.