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.