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.