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.