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.