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.