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.