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.