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.