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.