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.