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.