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.