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.