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.