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.