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.