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.