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.