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.