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.