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.