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.