LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY adrift)

The heat spilled up from the sidewalks, all the way up to her fifth floor apartment. She had the window open in the hopes of relieving some of the heat retained throughout the day; it didn't seem to be putting much of a dent in the temperature, even with all of her fans pointed directly toward it.

She turned off all the lights and stripped down to her underthings. Twice she had stood in front of the open refrigerator, soaking in the cool air until it felt as warm as everything else around her. She debated throwing ice cubes into the cold water bath she had drawn, but only dipped her feet in for a few minutes before growing listless again.

Her cruise left tomorrow. She had bought the ticket on a whim, weeks ago. It sat on top of her dresser drawer, one corner tucked under a pretty box she'd had since her early childhood. As the trip grew closer she started to believe that buying the ticket hadn't been a whim; it was something closer to fate or destiny.

Something within her knew that this trip would bring her to that elusive place she had always longed for, a strange dream she had often. Her life was going to change and as the weeks flew past quicker and warmer, that feeling grew into a certainty. This cruise was the turning point in her life.

She wasn't entirely certain how it would all turn out, but she knew that this cruise would end in a destination (and perhaps not the one it was meant to). The heat and humidity was fine enough for now; in a few days she wouldn't care about any kind of weather because her life would finally be as it was meant to be.

Dahlia would finally find the place where she belonged.