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.