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.