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.