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.