My grandfather died on that frightful, stormy afternoon. He was only 24, I never got to meet him. He spent his last moments of life abandoned, alone, scared. I wish I could have met him or been as brave as him to sacrifice himself.

Now I'm 24 and unlike my grandfather, I'm not courageous in the slightest. I am at university studying economics and I can barely eat a sandwich when someone even says 'hi' or 'nice shirt' to me. Every day, I walk around the big, bustling city of New York where car horns scream and skyscrapers stretch to touch the sky with my shoulders shrugged, back hunched and my head hanging low, avoiding the eyes of neighboring people.

Ever since my grandfather died, I have been inspired to continue his legacy and love for boats and the ocean. In my dorm room, I had two roommates, Joseph and Max. They were twins and surprisingly were polar opposites. Max was the gentleman, always dating someone and was never seen not looking his best. He was studying to be a food scientist, which all the girls say is 'so unique' and 'so interesting'. I'm not saying that wouldn't be a cool job, because I think it would be awesome, but everything about him seemed to please all the girls. Anyone could get lost in his gorgeous eyes. Curly, golden hair covered his face and the gym was obviously his second home. Joseph, well lets just say that I haven't heard his even speak for two months. He is studying economics too, but every minute of every hour he spends his time sitting alone, with his black headphones stuck to his ears, drenched in dark, moody coloured clothing. You would never guess that they were related let alone twins! And then there's me. I'm different. I'm very different. I've been through a hell of a lot during my twenty four years and most of my life until I hit the age of twenty two, was spent lying in a hospital bed.

I suffered from bowel cancer. I was diagnosed when I was four and I had chemo until I was cured at the age of twenty two. I am so grateful that I am here today, but my sickness caused my social anxiety and triggered trust issues, everlasting trust issues. For most of my childhood, I was bullied. For the couple of years I was allowed to attend school, I was punched, kicked, almost choked and even my so called 'best friend' threw a chair at my face to impress the other kids, knowing I was too weak to fight back. Then when I was too ill, and I could barely move some days, I was forced to live at the hospital. All alone, no friends, no fun, I wasn't free to explore, I was caged, praying for a couple more weeks, a couple more days of seeing the sun rise. I just wanted to die, I wanted to be gone, forever. The only thing that got me through my trauma, was my grandfathers diary. Inside he wrote all about his adventures at sea, his highs and lows, and his experiences through life. If I didn't have that diary, I think the thoughts in my head would have taken over and my final actions would have been dangerous, committing something deadly, and life ending. One day, a couple of months after my twenty second birthday, I was cured.

The thing is, when I was cured, I thought that I would be much happier. But I wasn't. I still had no friends and I had missed all of the fun childhood activities such as going to prom, having my first crush and graduating from high school, throwing blue hats into the air joyfully, while dancing and celebrating. Luckily, while in hospital, I had a personal tutor who helped me complete the high school, criteria so I was allowed to apply for university. My caring mother and father payed for tuition fee and now I am here. I have never told Joseph or Max about my past life, and I will never tell anyone, what if then I gained friends just because they feel bad for me. I want to discover true friends, ones who like me for me.

Anyway, I have blazing red hair, a face smothered in patchy freckles and moles and I am the shortest 24 year old boy I know. My neck constantly strains in order to do anything, Even turning off the lights in our dorm room is a struggle! My side of our dorm room is filled with ship models, family photos, my camera for photography which is one of my main passions, striped shirts which dad passed down to me and hidden all over my side of the dorm are my pills, to ensure that my disease does not come back.

Tomorrow is a big day, at the National history museum, a contest is occurring. It is a modelling contest where boat models can be entered and the prize is insane, lifechanging, unbelievable. Jeremy Shaka is the judge, a famous designer who will turn the best boat model into the next big ship! A real ship for real people that aren't figurines that I buy from toy shops that I visit way too much and get the most embarrassing stares from. I know people think I'm too old to be playing with toys, but I technically never had a childhood so leave me alone! Imagine having my design turned into a ship, that would be one thing in my life that would make my life actually worth living. I bet that would make my grandfather so proud and I could continue his legacy. Now it's time for me to go to bed, after all, fingers crossed I'm going to need lots of energy to celebrate tomorrow!

Hi everyone, thank you so much for reading chapter two! Chapter three will be coming in a couple of days! I would really appreciate it if you voted, commented and added this story to your reading lists, that would make my day! If you want to be extra nice, please check out my other books!! Hope you enjoyed and have a lovely day/night.

Much love and stay safe,

Soph xx