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.