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.