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.