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.