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.