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.