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.