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.