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.