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.