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.