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.