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.