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.