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.