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.