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.