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.