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.