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.