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.