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.