Evening didn't seem to come quick enough the next day. The entire time that I was out gathering food for the tribe, I was anxiously anticipating what would happen later on. Would I finally be able to find the beams of light?

Eventually, the sun went down, and the rest of the tribe retired to bed. I stood on the edge of the gathering place, waiting for Leu and Ix k'eh. It wasn't long before I saw Leu happily skipping toward me.

"Ready?" she giggled. "Oh, this is going to be so cool!"

I gave her a questioning look. "What do you mean?"

"I've never seen light in the wild before. And I've never been able to stay up this late before," Leu explained. "Can we get going? I'm so excited, I think I might burst!"

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, but we still have to wait for Ix k'eh to get here."

Leu rolled her eyes. "Oh, right," Leu pouted. "I don't see why we need a male escort. We can take care of ourselves just fine."

"Well, it was the one caveat to being able to search for the light at night, so we'll just have to deal with it."

In the distance, a figure emerged from the shadows. Ix k'eh had arrived.

We set off for the top of mountain, trekking along the winding path in silence. Ix k'eh held his bow in his hand, already mounted with an arrow, as if a predator was about to attack at any moment. Leu appeared exceedingly bored. Every last drop of energy had dissipated from her, and she seemed to continue onward with no purpose. I picked up the pace as I led the way. The moon was beginning to show from beneath the clouds. We had to hurry to maximize the amount of time spent looking for the light. 

Soon, we reached our destination, and my breath caught for a moment. The small plateau from yesterday had transformed into a field of glowing orbs. The shining light formed extravagant patterns as the rays twisted around the limbs of various plants. I grabbed the bag for the sunlight, and dashed toward the first bush. I knelt on the ground, the soft snow acting as a cushion for my knees. I whittled my fingers in and out between branches and leaves, careful not to scratch the precious, golden beam. Finally, I lifted it gently from the bush and nestled it in my bag. I moved onto the next bush, which had two rays stuck in it. Careful not to tangle the two, I released them both, adding them to my bag. I continued to the next bush. The light radiating from this one was silvery-white, unlike the previous two. Yes! I rejoiced. A moonbeam!

"Leu, hand me the moonbeam bag," I whispered. She obeyed instantly. Following the familiar routine, I freed the moonbeam, and placed it inside my bag.

I proceeded to gather all the light rays from the bushes in the clearing. I worked as quickly as possible, while still maintaining a delicate touch. Nevertheless, it took quite a while. After what felt like an eternity, my work was complete.

"We need to be heading back," Ix k'eh announced in a loud whisper, breaking me away from my thoughts.

I glanced at the sky. The moon was directly overhead, the sign that we needed to head back.

"Alright," I agreed, somewhat reluctant. I still had not found any starlight, but I didn't want to push the boundaries with Nal m'se. We left the quiet plateau and headed back to the caves.