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.