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.