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.