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.