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.