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.