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.