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.