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.