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.