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.