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.