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.