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.