The Note in the Bottle

I dove into the water without a second thought. It was freezing, and I knew that, but I didn't want her to drown.

It was a warm and sunny day--perfect for the beach. My mom took me and my little sister to one that was only about a half hour driver from our house. But, even on a warm day, California beaches still have freezing water. I can't remember a time when it wasn't like that.

I was afraid of the water. Ocean water tastes bad and there are always waves which catch you by surprise. The cold isn't too pleasant either. So I sat on my towel, next to my mom, and watched my six year old sister wade in the calm water. At least it was calm then. In the distance I could see a wave coming. She wasn't too far out, so I didn't worry.

I lost interest in my little sister and started looking around the beach. My eyes landed on the cutest guy I had ever seen. I gazed it him with a dazed look, and then I heard the cry. My head snapped back just in time to see my little sister being pushed under water by a powerful wave. That's when I dove.

The salt made my eyes sting, and left a bad taste in my mouth. Kathrine's foot had caught onto some sort of plant. I untangled it quickly, then led her to the surface. She was crying with fear. Kathrine ran to my mom without even thanking me. I smiled and was about to get out of the water when something caught my eye.

It was a piece of glass floating on the surface. The light had bounced off it, making it look very pretty. I swam to it and found an entire bottle. Inside the bottle was a piece of paper.

This was just like the stories. When I got on shore, I sat quietly by myself and popped the cork. It was wet and soggy. I wondered where it could have come from. I took a deep breath and pulled out the note. The note with nothing on it.

"Well that was a let down," I thought. But I took the bottle home, hopping that maybe something would appear. Actually, I'm not sure why I did it. But I did. I was curious as to where ti had come from, who had sent it and why.

I hid it my room, which wasn't that hard. There was so much junk on my floor hat it was impossible to see it.

I really thought that it had some message which I was missing. I even went as far as looking for invisible ink. But the not was empty.

I tried to forget about the bottle. But couldn't. When I wok up the next morning, I was about to look at it again, when I noticed it. The bottle was gone.

I told myself it was no big deal. There was a blank note inside, why would anyone want it? The only person who would take the slightest interest was Kathrine. I went quietly in her room becuase she was still asleep.

Lying on her floor was my bottle, still with a note inside. I was about to take it back, when Kathrine woke up.

"Why are you taking my bottl?" she asked.

"This is mine, I found it."

"You weren't supposed to. That was mine."

"What do you mean? I found it. There's nothing on it anyways"

"So? It doesn't matter. I just wanted someone to write it. I thought that they may write back to me."

"You sent out that bottle?"

"She nodded."

I guess she must have put in the water when the wave pushed her under. It hadn't gotten out that far yet, so I found it.

"Well, someone found it."

That night I took out the the piece of paper in the bottle and wrote her a note.I smiled, and slipped it back into her bedroom.

Word Count: 671