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.