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.