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.