July 04, 2022

#BlogchatterBlogHop: Message in a bottle (a short story)

Roxanne was strolling  languidly on the beach  when she noticed something glinting. At first she assumed it was flotsam. But curiosity drew her closer.

She scooped out the half-buried object from the golden yellow sands. It was a bottle. Inside it was a tiny roll of writing paper. Her mind began to race. 

Being an avid reader, her imagination quickly transported her to all those books she had read…about pirates and treasures; maybe this was a map. Or perhaps some lovelorn sailor had written to his beloved a confession before meeting his end jn the stormy water; a dismal end to a silent romance.

Roxanne unscrewed the cork of the bottle and recovered the paper. It was a note.


Dear reader,

This could have been a ticking bomb. Thank your stars It is not.

(Let this be a reminder never to touch something that has drifted from the sea, which I’m sure is where you imagined this to be  coming. But hah! Tough luck!)

We are a bunch of environmentalists on a mission; Project - ‘Message in a bottle’ (MIAB); an awareness project for reckless fools and romantic idiots.

You were going to throw this bottle back into the seaside, weren’t you? Maybe add a few lines of your own on the note it was carrying and set it asail for some dreamy eyed dingbat to find again? Six degrees of separation coming closer in such a glorious way binding strangers from different corners of the globe, right?

WRONG!

What is more likely to happen is this; the sea turtles and fish in the sea will choke on the cork or shards of the bottle broken from the current. And one tiny senseless act will become responsible for polluting our shores, destroying our aquatic life, and eventually damaging the entire ecosystem.

Sorry to burst your bubble, my friend. But life is no ‘Nicholas Spark’ novel. It is more of a Douglas Adams trilogy, where absurd things keep happening out of the blue and we need to constantly be on our feet in order to keep our planet from demolition.

So here is a friendly reminder. Stop polluting the earth with non-biodegradables. Go  natural instead. Conserve energy. Our forests and natural reservoirs need to be preserved.

And for heaven’s sake, please step out of your little Caribbean island pirate fantasy and stop flinging bottles into the sea, with or without notes in them.

Reduce, recycle, reuse (you know the drill). Now is the time to act.

Regards,

MIAB

(trying to save our planet, one step at a time)

P.S: Please insert the note in the bottle and place in found position.  

Project ‘MIAB’ is a  supervised project. Your response will be noted, and rest assured, the bottle will be duly disposed in a way that doesn’t harm our aquatic friends.


With nervous trepidation, Roxanne restored the note as directed. She knew what she had to do.

“Thank you, MIAB,” she whispered. “You have opened my eyes. I’m leaving the bottle behind, but will take your message forward.”

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This post is a part of Blogchatter Blog Hop.

15 comments:

Tomichan Matheikal said...

Great message memorably conveyed. 👍

Suchita said...

I was waiting for someone to do this with the prompt! I’m leaving the bottle behind, but will take your message forward. - what a lovely line.

Deepti Menon said...

What a wonderful and wise message! 😊😊 Duly noted!

Amrita said...

Oh loved this .What s lovely message in a message Priyanka.

Prasanna Raghavan said...

A lovely message. Thank you, Priyanka, for that brilliant theme.

Pri said...

Thanks, Tomichan. I'm glad you liked it. :)

Pri said...

Thanks, Suchita. I'm glad you liked it :)

Pri said...

Thanks, Deepti. :)

Pri said...

Thanks, Amrita. :)

Manali Desai said...

A much-needed message... we need to be practical instead of being all dreamy and lovelorn

Anonymous said...

Lovely story. what a simple yet strong way to put forward your message!

Pri said...

Thanks, Anon. I'm happy you liked it. :)

Pri said...

Indeed, Manali. We need to get real, especially when it comes to saving the world we live in. We have too many romantics ruining it already. ;)

Cindy D'Silva said...

Hahaha this was a good one. A slap into reality 🤣 for a romantic idiot or treasure seeker!!!

Deliciously Alive said...

Loved reading this! The wake-up call we all need. The best take on the prompt!
Mayuri/Sirimiri