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.