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.