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.