Hello again. It's me Fred. The story I have for you today takes place about a year after the last one. This is the tale of my first trip on a ship. So I'll tell it. Enjoy!

1 year after I began searching for Stephen I realised it was futile. Every night I had searched. I had looked in the woods, followed the road for miles, even tried to climb a mountain. Of course I never found him. As I already mentioned eventually I realised my search was hopeless. Stephen could have been on the other side of the world by then. This realisation didn't make me give up though. It made me do something far more crazy. I set sail for far away lands. I kid you not. I'll just tell you exactly how it happened shall I?

I was seven years of age at the time. It was a night like any other- I was climbing out of my window to hunt for Stephen. Suddenly a thought struck me. What if Stephen had left the country? I hadn't even considered the possibility before. The only way to find him now would be a ship! I reentered my room through my window, as I had done so many times, grabbing a pencil and sheet of paper and began to write.This is what I wrote:

Dear Mummy and Daddy
I have gone to looc 4 my freind
He left 1 year ago.
I luve yu and will be back soon
From Fred

(My spelling wasn't great back then, I was only young) I left that note on my bed and left the room through the window, yet again, taking my money with me. Sadly it wasn't much. That night I walked for what felt like miles and miles, but was actually only two. It still took me until morning to walk that distance and reach the nearest port town though. Boy what a sight greeted my eyes. It wasn't what I had expected though. I had hoped for old fashioned sailing ships, complete with tall masts and huge sails, billowing in the wind. What i actually saw may have been even more impressive. Everywhere I looked there were huge cruise liners, massive freight ships and gigantic fishing boats. They were amazing, but I still wanted a ship that could have come straight out of Peter Pan. Finally I found a ship out of my dreams. A majestic old ship, shining like diamonds. the captain obviously took great care of the ship. The ship was sailing straight for France. Perfect. As fate seemed to be favouring me that day the ship was short of someone to scrub the decks. So I got that job and sailed to France abord the Dove.

I very quickly developed a love of sailing on that journey. Never once did I feel sea sick, the movement of the deck becoming completely natural to me, the smell of the sea my favourite smell in the world. Even now i live to sail the seven seas you know. That was the journey that started it all. Maybe I will fill you in on the details next time, maybe not.

(If you have a preference as to whether I should describe the journey or continue wit his adventures in the next part please let me know.)