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.