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.