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.