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.