A woman made of the universe once danced her way through it, marveling at everything she came across. A tiara of stars crowned tresses of comets, and her clothing swirled with the galaxies she made it from. She ran across the universe, never stopping, racing and running and jumping and dancing, refusing to allow anything to overtake her. 

She faced down meteors, adding them to her train, for she delighted in watching them dance and leap behind her. For eons she ran, never tiring, never lacking for anything her heart desired. 

Then one day, she fell short, staring out over the entire world she had at her disposal, and the vast magnitude of what she had been created from struck her. For the first time, she saw not the glorious jewels of her dress, but rather the empty space between them and the empty space surrounding her. 

She felt alone, and the thoughts troubled her. For eons more, she stumbled through the paths she once darted through. Where once she had run and laughed and sang, now she watched the edges of the universe precariously, searching for hope in the faintest locations. 

Then one day, as she climbed on top of a brilliant Sun, she saw a constellation in the far distance waving at her. Amazed and delighted, she ran towards the other, having thought herself alone in the universe. 

When she got closer, she saw another just like her, except for every brilliant light that shone against her skin, he wore a garment of the deepest dark. 

“Who are you?” he asked. She thought about the question for a long moment, but having never had need for a name, she had no answer to give him. 

At long last she responded, “I am the spirit of the stars, the light of the universe, the joy of the planets. I shine for all to see in the hopes that none will ever be lost again.” 

The other smiled. “I will call you Radiance then,” he said. “For you are truly the most radiant sight I have ever and will ever see again.” 

Radiance had a name, and the feeling was extraordinary. “Who are you?” she asked in turn. 

He bowed at the waist, and Radiance noticed he wore a brilliant belt of stars, the only light upon him. “I am the space between the stars that allows the lights to shine. I am the greatest darkness and the fiercest source of power in the universe.” 

“I will call you Miracolo because you are my miracle,” she said. 

They shared a smile, and he straightened, meeting her eyes. “Beautiful Radiance, may I accompany you on your journeys and be the darkness to your light?” 

She nodded her agreement, finding his hand. Where their skin met, a brilliant pulse of energy exploded outward, shaking the galaxy around them. “Let’s run,” she said, and then they ran, never stopping. 

For eons, they wandered, and though they explored old locations, everything felt new. Radiance delighted in Miracolo’s stories and humor, and together they fell in love, stronger with every passing day. 

“I will love you to infinity,” Miracolo told her one day, gesturing to the universe around them. “I will love you for as far as the darkness will fill in the places between the lights.” 

“All can only watch and dream of having a love of ours,” she replied. 

When he leaned in to kiss her, she kissed him back. A supernova formed where they stood, and giggling as children, they ran away from the explosion, leaping across galaxies at a time. 

Yet there came a time when the old places they had traveled felt old, and the stories had all been shared. Radiance looked back to a time where she could meld into stars, such brilliant light that Miracolo could not enter. Miracolo dreamt of deep space, where no stars could exist to break his perfect darkness. They began to resent each other, forgetting the loneliness that had engulfed them. 

When they fought, stars shattered, comets reversed their course, and darkness rippled outward in overlapping layers. For years, darkness and light battled, until finally, both sides retreated far away, hiding wounded in their own areas. 

As Radiance stared around the inside of a star, she nursed her wounds and cried for the first time. The universe did not know what to do with her tears, so they turned to frozen ice and dust, falling and gathering into clouds around her shoulders and feet. 

For eons, they wandered the brightest and darkest parts of the universe alone. Radiance could not view the dark parts between the stars without thinking of Miracolo, and the joy she once had disappeared completely. Finally, she gave in, leaving the old arguments behind. 

She strode to the middle of the universe, buried by the weight of her tears, and she called out to the darkness, begging for forgiveness. For years she stood there, waiting for an answer, unwilling to lose the darkness in the light. 

Yet as time went on, she gave up the cause as lost, turning away from the darkness. Her gaze fell across the world she shared, yet instead of stars and jewels in the sky, all she could find was intermittent darkness. 

Another tear dripped down to join the clouds, only for a hand to reach out and wipe it away. 

“I’ve missed you, my radiant love,” Miracolo said, appearing from the darkness. “I was a fool.” 

“As was I,” Radiance returned. The silence between them was taut and frayed with silence, but Miracolo offered her a faint smile, reaching out to take her hand. The explosion of energy was enough to blow the clouds of dust away, and as she squeezed his hand back in return, she could feel the weight flying off her shoulder. 

“I love you,” she lied. 

“I love you too,” he replied. 

Together they smiled and walked sedately to the other side of the universe, for loneliness bites sharper than any sword.