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.