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.