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.