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.