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.