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.