The bottle rolled onto the beach, waves pushing it further ashore. High tide receded as fast as it came, leaving remnants and the bottle behind. Crusted over with barnacles and coquinas, the bottle waited to be found in the powder.

A lone woman strolled along at sunrise enjoying the quiet morning and the birds. The sea left a smattering of treasures for her to comb through as the beach came to life.

She paused as she saw the familiar shape reminiscent of an olden bottle of rum. She scooped up her treasure from the depths, brown glass and aged to a dull patina, and she admired it.

She settled on a nearby fallen palm, and inspected the bottle further. She noticed a cork tightly wedge in its mouth.

Could it be the ubiquitous message in a bottle?

Gently she pried it open and looked inside. A parchment rolled up and a couple coins were stowed inside. She tilted the bottle and pulled out the parchment.

In shaky calligraphy, the note read:

To the sea I cast my wish,

With a letter and two six-pence,

One day my true love, let her find,

And bring my face to her mind,

See me in this life or the next.

And do not let our love be vexed.

Forever more yours,

The last line had blurred, making the name unrecognizable. The woman smiled to herself.

What a find, indeed!

She stood up and gently placed her find in a tote. She looked forward to discovering more from her treasure’s history.