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.