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.