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.