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.