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.