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.