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.