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.