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.