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.