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.