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.