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.