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.