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.