The sky was unusually bright, a deep velvet canvas speckled with shimmering stars, and Jeremy could not have been happier. With his telescope in hand, he dashed across the dew-kissed meadow behind his house, eager to lose himself in the constellations once more. His father had been an astronomer. So had his grandfather, and his great-grandfather. It was only natural that Jeremy, too, had inherited their unyielding love for the stars and galaxies.

He was five years old when his father first took him stargazing. The sensation of peering through the lens, seeing the stars so close they seemed within reach, had flooded him with an overwhelming sense of awe. At that moment, under the vast expanse of the night sky, Jeremy knew without question—he would follow in their footsteps and become an astronomer himself.

“This one is Perseus,” his father, Jeremy the Third, said with a warm smile, angling the telescope toward the eastern sky. “And just next to it is Cassiopeia.”

“Persus and Cassopea...” little Jeremy echoed, his small tongue tripping over the unfamiliar names.

His father chuckled softly, his voice tinged with amusement and patience, and adjusted the telescope toward the west. “And over here, beside Cassiopeia, is Andromeda.”

“Adromeda…” Jeremy repeated, his brow furrowed in concentration.

“Yes,” his father said with a laugh, “Andromeda.”

That night, those names etched themselves into Jeremy’s heart as firmly as the constellations were etched into the sky.

Now, twenty years later, Jeremy stood in the same meadow under the same glittering expanse, his telescope trained on the familiar trio—Perseus, Cassiopeia, and Andromeda. The ritual had become second nature to him, a quiet homage to his father and to the love of the stars they had shared.

But tonight, something was different.

Jeremy scanned the heavens as he always did, his mind effortlessly naming each familiar constellation—Perseus, Cassiopeia, Andromeda—but then he paused. There was something new. A constellation he didn’t recognize, a pattern of stars unlike any he had ever seen. His heart skipped, the thrill of discovery rushing through him as he pulled away from the telescope, his gaze lifting to the night sky. It was so bright, the stars glowing with an intensity that made it feel like dawn was near, yet a quick glance at his watch confirmed it was only half past midnight.

He adjusted the telescope again, focusing on the strange new formation, his fingers tightening around the cool metal of the lens. “Have I seen you in a book somewhere?” he muttered under his breath, the question lingering in the air. He sifted through the countless pages of star charts and astronomical texts he’d absorbed over the years, but as he locked his gaze onto the unfamiliar constellation, he knew without a doubt—no, he hadn’t. This was something entirely new.

Quickly, Jeremy pulled a small notebook and pen from his back pocket, settling onto the grass beneath him. His eyes flicked from the stars to the page, sketching the new constellation with careful precision, pausing only to glance up at the sky to capture the details just right. When he was finished, he leaned back, nearly toppling into the grass in his excitement, and let out a sudden burst of laughter. “Did I just discover a new constellation?”

The words hung in the air, and before he could fully process them, a memory surged into his mind—a story his grandfather, Jeremy the Second, had once told him as a child. "Once in a thousand moons," his grandfather’s voice echoed, "the stars will shine brighter than ever before. And if you find a star you've never seen, you can make a wish, and it will be granted to you."

Little Jeremy the Fourth had only heard the story twice, but now, with the stars above him and the strange new constellation glowing in the night, it felt as though the story had been waiting for this moment. The weight of the tale, long forgotten but now remembered in vivid detail, seemed to shimmer with the same brilliance as the stars themselves.

He gazed up at the sky, his eyes fixed on the new constellation, and the longer he stared, the brighter it seemed to glow. He remembered his grandfather’s story, the legend of a wish granted under a star no one had ever seen before. Why not give it a try?

Clasping his hands together, Jeremy closed his eyes for a moment and whispered, more to himself than to the universe, “Please, let me meet the love of my life—someone who loves the stars as much as I do.”

As if in response, the stars above pulsed, growing even brighter, their light almost blinding him. He instinctively shielded his eyes, the brightness overwhelming. But just as suddenly as it had flared, the light disappeared. The sky returned to its usual quiet darkness, the same stillness that had filled the night just moments before.

But that wasn’t all.

Behind him, Jeremy heard a rustling in the grass, followed by the sound of footsteps—footsteps coming closer, soft but distinct.

Footsteps?

His pulse quickened. His breath caught in his throat, and without thinking, he spun around, heart racing.

"Hi," a woman’s voice called out, warm and friendly. "I know there was a fence, and I didn’t mean to trespass, but I saw the stars earlier. It was so bright, and I felt... drawn to it."

Jeremy’s breath caught as he turned to face her. She was around his age, her fair skin glowing softly in the moonlight, long fiery hair cascading over her shoulders. A few freckles dusted her cheeks, and her eyes—vibrant green, like the fresh grass beneath their feet—held a spark of curiosity. She was beautiful, in a way that took his breath away. The air around them seemed to carry the faint scent of wildflowers, mingling with the crispness of the night.

"H-hello," he stammered, feeling suddenly awkward under her gaze. "Would you... like to look through my telescope?"

"Is that okay? I’d love to!" The woman’s eyes lit up as she skipped toward the telescope, her excitement infectious. She peered through the lens, her voice filled with awe as she began naming the constellations. "Oh, Andromeda! Is this... Cassiopeia? Wow. Perseus!"

Jeremy’s heart raced. A beautiful woman who knew the constellations. What were the odds? It was like his wish had just come true.

Right. His wish.

He smiled to himself, watching her so completely absorbed in the stars, the same way he’d been for years. It felt like the bedtime story his great-grandfather had told him was somehow true, that strange, wonderful moment when the stars might grant a wish.

"I'm Jeremy Altair the Fourth," he introduced himself, his voice steady now.

The woman looked up from the telescope, her lips curving into a smile that seemed to light up the entire night. "And I’m Stella Moon."