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.