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.