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.