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.