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.