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.