Message in a Bottle
22 Dec 2021Today’s prompt: “Write a message in a bottle. Write about the person who finds it.”
You’ve been stranded on the island with nothing to eat or drink for two days when a sealed bottle washes up on shore. You uncork it and unroll the message inside.
“Ahoy mateys! If you find this, you are likely nearby The Most Excellent Party Boat! We are anchored in a small unnamed archipelago of barren and lifeless islands in the Pacific (see enclosed map). The captain of this delightful vessel, feeling generous and whimsical, hereby invites you aboard our craft for food, libations, and righteous partying!
“Party hardy!
“Sincerely,
“Captain Marsha Pendergrast
“The Most Excellent Party Boat”
You scan the hand-drawn map and compare it to the one left from the wreckage of your plane. Holy shit. It does seem to be near here. Not swimming distance, and you wouldn’t trust your strength to those currents anyway. But if you build a raft, you might be able to get to it. You’ve never bothered going to another island since you knew these islands were uninhabited and you could tell from the air that none of them had any major resources. But shit, if there’s a party boat out there…. They could rescue you. You could get some water, a hot meal, a change of clothes, a ride home.
How long ago did they throw this bottle into the ocean? you wonder. Just how long has this party been going on? They’re probably long gone. Still, a chance is a chance. You lash together buoyant pieces of your aircraft, fashion yourself a paddle, and head toward X.
You paddle all day and all night, and in the gray light of dawn you see a ship rising out of the mist. You redouble your efforts, eagerly churning your oar through the waters.
Up close, you can see the ship’s sails are tattered. It looks like a ghost ship, like something that’s been here for centuries. And yet, there on the stern, you see the words, “The Most Excellent Party Boat.”
You try shouting. No one answers. You paddle around the boat. Unaccountably, a rope ladder extends down the starboard side. You haul yourself up.
The entire ship is full of skeletons holding long-rotted canapes and long-evaporated cocktail glasses. There is no food. No water. And no hope of getting to civilization before you die of thirst, or whatever killed these partygoers.