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.