The Kingdom of Stardust was waking up in shades of pale gold and silver mist. Arthur walked through the meadow where the grass felt like silk and the air tasted like a half-forgotten dream.
He had spent years following a feeling a quiet hum in his chest that told him he was incomplete. Today, that hum had turned into a song. He reached for the silver pendant hidden beneath his linen shirt. For the first time in a decade, it wasn't cold. It was warm, pulsing with a light so bright it bled through the fabric, magically turning blue.
Then, he saw her.
Anna was sitting in a circle of glowing wildflowers, her dress shimmering like water under a morning sun. She was reaching out to touch a stray spark of stardust, her movements slow and graceful. Arthur stopped breathing. The world around them began to change; the green of the trees and the white of the flowers started to wash over with a soft, sapphire glow, reacting to his presence.
"Anna," he whispered, his voice trembling.
She looked up. Her eyes were as beautiful as he remembered, but they were empty. As she looked at his face, and then at the brilliant blue light glowing from his pendant, there was no spark of recognition. Her neck was bare, the silver chain she used to wear nowhere to be seen.
She tilted her head, watching the blue light dance across the grass. "It's a beautiful color," she said softly, her voice like distant bells. "But who are you, traveler?"
Arthur felt a sharp ache in his heart. His pendant was screaming with memories of their childhood of laughter, promises, and shared stardust but to Anna, he was just a stranger in a blue-tinted morning.