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.