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.