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.