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.