Page 59 of Monsters in Love: Lost in the Stars

Neamhaí savored the starlight as they drifted among the ocean of galaxies. The beauty of this vast expanse was never lost on them. The stars were their family, the deep blue eternity around them was their home.

During all the endless years of their existence, one celestial fixture had held their interest more than all the rest, though.

A perfect sphere of darkness, far in the distance, with a halo of pearly light around its edges. And there they were—the beautiful being Neamhaí dreamed of. They watched the being, with their long, flowing black hair and eyes a shade of silver different from any other star in the heavens. The being had been there as long as Neamhaí could remember, there on their floating dark orb as it made its eternal journey around the planet below it. At times they seemed sad even, being always alone.

Neamhaí wondered, often, what it would be like to talk with the being. Would they understand each other, as Neamhaí understood their celestial siblings? If so, they would ask the being everything—they wanted to know all there was to know, every secret of their heart.

Neamhaí gave a flick of their mighty tail, their massive dragon body gliding through space. The great orb of fire—one of many across the galaxy, but the closest one to where they made their home—was making another rotation by the time they cast their eyes back toward the creature they loved from afar.

When they looked, expecting to see their flowing hair and their familiar form, they were… gone. Neamhaí waited, watching, for their being to return. Perhaps their being was a goddess, and could move around as they pleased. Maybe they would return.

Despite Neamhaí's attempt at optimism, a deep dread took root in their heart.

When several rotations of the planet had passed, Neamhaí's anxiety grew too great. They sought out the celestial elders, intent on making the journey down to the planet to find their being. If they weren't there, well… they would search every inch of this whole vast galaxy to find them.