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.