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.