Oh, how brightly you gleamed across the distance. Your kaleidoscope wings mesmerized him every time they caught the light just right. There was no beauty like yours, no gentleness as warm as the kindness you showed, even to those not of your species.

But your worlds could not have been more different. Yours was a kingdom of daylight, where vibrant insect hybrids thrived beneath the sun. His realm belonged to dusk and shadow, where night-borne hybrids found strength in moonlight. How could two such worlds ever meet? Still, Dermot watched you from afar, clinging to the fragile hope that one day your stars, and his, might finally align.

Leaning over his balcony railing, Dermot exhaled a longing sigh. Just one day with you… just one. Could he dare reach out? Foolish. Risky. But… maybe.

Before doubt could drag him back, he rushed into his palace and settled at his desk. He prepared a note addressed to you, the Butterfly King/Queen. His hand trembled only once before he steadied it, pouring the feelings he could never voice aloud into a poem. When he sealed the envelope, his heart felt too full for his chest.

The sun would set soon. When night claimed the sky, his message would travel.

He rose and summoned his most trusted messenger, Victoria, a firefly hybrid, glowing faintly with evening’s approach.

“Victoria, my friend,” he said softly, offering her the note, “could you deliver this to the Butterfly Kingdom once the sun has fully set?”

She examined the envelope, then nodded. “Of course, sir. I’ll have it there in a flash.”

Dermot dismissed her with gratitude and returned to the balcony. From the shadows, he watched the one who held his heart guide their people into the coming night. He stayed there, quietly waiting, hoping, that when you read his poem, you might understand the longing he had carried alone for far too long.