Prologue

Meredith Quill had never been happier. She sat in the passenger seat of her special spaceman’s convertible and laughed into the wind. He smiled at her from the driver’s seat and leaned over to kiss her. The radio was playing one of her favorite songs as he sped up, racing down the stretch of Missouri country road. He’d said he had a surprise for her and she couldn’t wait to find out what it was.

He slowed down and turned into the parking lot of an ice cream shop outside town. Meredith was a little surprised—he hadn’t said anything about getting ice cream. But she was in love and she would do whatever he wanted to do as long as they were together. He pulled past the store and parked behind it, at the edge of the woods. Then he led her down the side of a hill to a beautiful little glade, dappled with sun that shone down through the leaves.

“Look,” he said, pointing toward the ground in the middle of the glade.

A marvelous little plant grew there. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before, with spiky leaves that waved even though there was no wind. Below the leaves, the plant glowed in different colors. It seemed to brighten as Meredith’s spaceman approached.

She gasped. “Oh! It’s beautiful!”

“I was afraid it wouldn’t take in the soil, but it grew quickly. And soon it’ll be everywhere.” He spread his arms, taking in everything they could see or imagine. “All across the universe.”

She laughed, swept away by the grand vision. “Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but I like the way you say it.”

“My heart is yours, Meredith Quill,” he said.

She put her arms around his neck. “I can’t believe I fell in love with a spaceman.” They kissed there in the woods, with the sounds of birds around them and wind rustling in the trees. Nearby, the strange plant began to grow.