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.