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.