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.