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.