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.