the first time, he realized his grandfather owned a yacht in the marina in Tel Aviv. It was a yacht with three decks, a length of twenty-four meters, with an estimated worth of ten million dollars. Next to the picture of the yacht, was a picture of his grandfather and his only son, Daniel’s father. His mother never talked about his father. She talked mostly about his grandfather. This was the first time he saw his father's image. He cut the picture from the newspaper and put it on the table. The closeness gave him a lovely feeling. Since then, Daniel adopted a new route. From his work, he passed by the Marina and from there, headed straight to his room in south Tel-Aviv. He felt he always seemed to be captivated by magic every time he passed by and looked at his grandfather’s boat. He thought a good life was within his reach, and maybe at some point after all, there was a glimmer of hope… some hope for change in his life. Daniel tried to picture meeting with his grandfather, and the things they would say to one another. He watched the seagulls sitting calmly above the water, after sailing from a stinky zone. This was his life - one dark side and the other glowing bright.
It was one sunny winter day. Daniel stepped on the deck and took off his shirt, which was a discomfort in the winter sun. He lay on a bench bolted to the concrete, allowing himself, to feel the tender touch of the sun soothed and relaxed every cell of his body. He did not know how long he lay there, until a shivering winter cold woke him from his sleep. He was taken by surprise when he realized it was already dark. The darkness was illuminated by the occasional flashing of the beaming light coming from the lighthouse. The ship’s masts seemed to be embedded in the dark sky were moved by the cold breeze that produced a pleasant metallic sound coming from the mast touching the rope. Daniel put his shirt on and was about to go home. Suddenly, he noticed a light coming from his grandfather's yacht. It had been eight months since he had been started visiting the marina almost every day and this was the first time he saw the lights on. He went onto the dock where the yacht was anchored and saw an old man who looked like the man in the newspaper standing at the tailpiece with a cigar stuck in his mouth. The cold evening did not deter the man. Daniel felt a wild and reckless drive coming from within. He stepped onto the dock and boarded the yacht. "Hello, I'm Daniel." He reached out for his grandfather’s hand.
The man looked at him, momentarily confused. A second later his face became pale. He recognized Daniel. "What are you doing here? Who gave you permission to come in?" His eyes were full of anger.
"Don’t you recognize me?" Daniel asked with dismay.
"Get off of the boat immediately, now!" Moshe Kowalski continued while he held Daniel's arm and dragged him off of the yacht.
"I'm your grandson, Julia’s son..." Daniel tried. He believed a terrible mistake was happening and his grandfather would immediately realize his mistake.
Moshe wanted to shout, and throw Daniel into the water, but he did not want the existence of his grandson to be known by anyone. "I don’t have a grandchild, do you hear that? I do not have a grandson, and I do not know any Julia. Get out of here right now!" he said in a firm voice, sending him a horrible look.
Daniel stood on the dock where he was thrown, shocked. He had no doubt his grandfather was wrong, and knew exactly who he was.
"Why are you standing there like a trunk? I told you to go away now!" Moshe Kowalski yelled, "Go back from where you came, or I will throw you out of here." He turned around and went back onto the yacht, closing the big glass door behind him.
Daniel kept standing there as if his feet were nailed to the floor.
‘You have a grandson. He's here’, he murmured. The belief that accompanied him through these years, that gave him strength and hope, was like a bombshell that exploded in his