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.