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.