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.