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.