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.