Sacred Leia

While vacationing in Kona I discovered a bottle that washed ashore.  At first glance I thought it was a glass weight, its cylinder shape lay snug in the wet sand as low tide gave way to safety.  I picked it up, the sea green thick heavy bottle showed raised letters, “Hollister & Co”.  The neck was short, about one inch, the lip taking up half that amount.  It was not a perfect shape but rather authentic in nature, perhaps hand made.  The cork was snug in its place and different then I’d ever seen – the shape of a nail, the middle portion layered with a rubber gasket. Oddly enough there was a paper inside and it appeared to be dry, the cork having served its purpose.  The dilemma was, “Do I open the bottle?”

First, I wanted to find out more about the bottle.  The internet gave way to instant gratification.  The type was a BIMAL which stands for Blow-In-Mold-Applied-Lip bottle.  They were manufactured between 1851 through 1919.  No two bottles are the same, which make them a desirable collectible item

The paper inside was yellowed and brown.  I wondered if it was a love letter or a map as it was scrolled and tied with a yellow ribbon.  I decided to push the cork inside.  This was not an easy task as I had thought.  Time and sea salt had crusted it closed tight.  A thin knife was my next bet.  After an hour of gentle maneuvering the cork let loose and fell to the bottom.  My stomach knotted in excitement!

Tweezers at hand I extracted the delicate paper and lay it upon the table to breathe and acclimate to the warm balmy air.  Minutes later I untied the ribbon and gingerly began unrolling it.  It was a letter slightly smudged but readable.  Rather then reading it then, I lay the scroll flat putting stone weights on either end.  I then walked away to give it time to wake and stretch. For me, it gave me time to savor the unknown.  Two hours and twelve minutes passed and I revisited the letter which lay open.  With Lemon Raspberry ice tea at hand I sat upon my favorite lounger and began to read……

Dear Leia, Your delicate soft body, so tiny and lifeless lay on my protected lap.  Your small hands are curled tight, your thin black hair matted, your translucent eyelids sleeping, your toes a bit pudgy fit in the palm of my hand.  I want to hold you forever, nuzzle into you and forever smell your innocence. No one knows about you, no one can, no one can ever know you existed, not even in death.  I pray each night that daddy doesn’t visit me but he comes in the middle of the night, wakes me, covers my mouth with his deliberate large hand and thrusts inside me.  I have become numb, my legs heavy, the inside of me so swollen with disgust.  After his grunt he leaves and I am left with him still close, the bed sheets wet, the soreness throbbing.  I get up, go to the bathroom, flush the toilet and then wipe myself raw with soapy water.  My skin is red but that is nothing compared to the stench of him.  Momma knows, she pretends not to though. I hate him and I hate momma too for being weak.  Leia, I would’ve protected you. I would’ve stood guard, ran from anything so slavery.  Me, educated, the daughter of a respected doctor. Who would believe me?  I’m weak from your birth, your blue body denying living.  The grassly knoll of your birth is bloodied, my dress drenched with sweat.  I go with you Leia into the sea, but not before telling the sea our story.  Love, your momma

My eyes puddled, a drip landing on the letter.  I was silenced, muted as if sitting in the grassy knoll looking out to sea.  It was not the young lovers story I had imagined. I patted the letter dry, rolled it up, gently tied the yellow ribbon around the scroll then dropped it back into the bottle.  The cork still at the bottom of the bottle, quite unusable lent me a quandary.  How do I cork back the bottle for I knew it had to go back to the sea?  I found a cork, too large for the bottle but cut it to size.  I found some resin used on our boat and sealed their story.  Tomorrow, on our next scuba charter the bottle would go too.  Leia and momma, their secret sealed would find their way back home.