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.