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.