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.