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.