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.