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.