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.