Daniel was leaning against the cruise ship's rail and looking out to sea it was a dark and shimmering sight in the full moon's bright light. He was all alone on this cruise, the romantic cruise he and his wife had always planned, but somehow had never taken. Now that he was widowed it somehow seemed he had to do this, to put his memories in their proper place and get on with his life. Daphne would want him to let go and finally move forward. As he stood there in his black tie and tux, it was the captain's dinner evening, he felt god awful alone. He sensed, rather than saw, a presence to his left.
He turned slightly in that direction and saw the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was very tall, at least two or three inches taller than his own six foot three inch frame. She was wearing a pearlescent white gown that went from off of her shoulders clear to the ship's shiny waxed wooden deck. The skin tight fit accented her voluptuous body. The shimmering light reflection from the dress gave her a slightly ghost like appearance.
She too was staring out across the darkened sea. Daniel let his eyes trace her body, from the deck to her hair and back to her feet. He saw the slim woman standing there had long slender legs, a nice curve at the hips, a tiny waist, medium sized breasts, long slender arms and neck. Perched atop her slim neck was an angel's face, framed by waist length golden blond hair a vision of Daniel's perfect woman. As he stared at her he thought she looked vaguely familiar to him.
Daniel briefly glanced back at the ocean and when he turned back to say good evening to her, she had vanished. Daniel looked about the deck and the nearest doorway was over a hundred feet away. He muttered out loud to himself,
"I must be hallucinating; there is no way she could have gotten out of sight that fast."
Daniel shrugged it off as one too many martinis and went back into the dinning hall. After dinner Daniel danced a few dances with some of the women at the Captain's party and finally headed for his stateroom. While he was descending the stairs to the deck his stateroom was on, he thought he caught a glimpse of the mysterious woman he had seen on the deck earlier in the evening. He followed her in the direction he thought she had gone. He thought he saw her s couple of more times before he completely lost her. Daniel gave up the pursuit after about 15 minutes and returned to his state room and went to sleep, dreaming of the luscious creature he thought he had seen.
About three AM Daniel awoke and looked out of his window and to his amazement there she was, standing out side of his state room, looking out at the early morning sea. He hurriedly threw on some clothes and exited his state room, only to find that the vision had vanished. He had gotten a much better look at her face this morning and he was sure that he knew her from somewhere, but where?
Every evening for the next three or four nights he saw her or caught a short glimpse of her. She was always lovely and just out of reach. During the day he searched the huge ship and questioned the other passengers and the crew. No one seemed to have seen her, just him. He was beginning to doubt his hold on reality.
It was the last night of the cruise and there was an all passenger dance in full swing. Daniel was there and having a pretty good time and had almost forgotten the mysterious blond woman. The final dance of the evening was about to begin and Daniel found himself without a partner. He was a bit tired anyway and was standing at the edge of the dance floor. He felt a soft touch on his shoulder. When he looked in that direction his heart nearly leaped from his chest. The mystery woman, who still looked vaguely familiar, was beside him and obviously wanted to dance the last dance with him.
When they embraced, for the dance, their bodies melded as if they were one. Even though she towered over him, their bodies fit like they had been designed to be a single organism. The only other woman that had fit against him like this was his dearly departed wife. The dance lasted far too short for Daniel. His year long suppressed male desires had come tumbling to the surface, but he was at a loss for words. He wanted to continue to be with this woman. When the music stopped and the pregnant silence was nearly unbearable the angel spoke,
"Would you like to go for an evening stroll on the deck topside?"
Daniel managed to nod his head in the affirmative and finally managed a hoarse,
"Yes"
During the walk Daniel found out nothing about the gorgeous woman at his side. He did not give up much information about himself, but she seemed to know everything about him. Even some things only his wife would have known. This made Daniel think that perhaps this beautiful creature was a friend of Daphne's. Finally the walk put them right in front of Daniel's state room. He invited her in and she accepted. Daniel poured each of them a glass of wine. When they entwined arms to toast,
"A fine cruise and a great last evening."
