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.