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.