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.