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.