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.