The Letter

I found Pete where I had left him and stood on my tiptoes to hold the bottle higher. “Pete, check it out! I found a bottle with a message inside! Can you help me open it?”

Pete slowly sighed and stretched. “Why don’t you break it? There’s plenty of good rocks to get the job done, and I don’t mind lending you a broom and a bucket to clean up the glass.”

I shook my head, quickly cradling the bottle against my chest in case Pete tried to take it away. “I don’t want to break it. It’s a perfect bottle!”

“Yes, and it’ll be recycled into something just as good or better. Didn’t your teachers teach about protecting the planet?”

“I’m not breaking it, Pete!” I can’t. I won’t. I knew I was being childish. But breaking the bottle was wrong. I didn’t need Pete to understand. I just needed him to help me open the bottle so I could have it and the letter!

Pete lifted his hat to glare at me, but I didn’t back down. In hindsight, it didn’t matter what happened to the bottle. It was just an ordinary bottle. But, even I’d known that. I knew I wouldn’t have done anything differently. I was that kind of kid, especially when it came to bottles. Pete sat up and shook his head.

“What are you going to do if I say no, kid?”

“Take it home and ask my parents to help me.” I knew what he would say.

“Even though that’ll show them you leave the house in the middle of the night?”

“It’s not the middle of the night. It’ll be dawn soon.”

“You still shouldn’t be out here by yourself.”

“I’m not by myself. I’m with you.”

“Oh no, you’re not. I’m not taking responsibility for your reckless behavior!”

“You’re the one who told me to go out there, Pete. I’m pretty sure that makes you responsible. Plus, if I say how many times I’ve been out here, and you didn’t call my parents or the police”-

“You can’t prove that!”

I smirked and patted the bottle. “I don’t need to. I just need to say it, and it’ll all go downhill from there. You’ll be lucky if they let you come to the beach again.”

“You’ll be the lucky one, Kenny. I’ve been coming to this beach since before you were born.”

I had no idea if that was the truth, but I wasn’t going to give up. “Then you must know all kinds of cool ways to open bottles, right? Come on, Pete. I know you sent me there for a reason. You gotta help me!”

“I sent you over there so I could get some extra sleep.” Pete glared at me for several seconds before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a Swiss army knife. I backed up, looking between the knife and Pete’s face.

“Pete?” I didn’t make him mad, did I? We’ve joked around before, and he’s always helping me…

“Hand me the bottle, kid. I’ll see what I can do.” He held out his free hand, but I backed away again. Pete tilted his head so the hat revealed both of his eyes and laughed. He laughed so hard he almost dropped the knife as he leaned against his chair. If this had been anyone else, I would have run.

But this was Pete, and a part of me was too confused to do anything. “Um… Pete?”

Pete wiped his eyes and crooked his finger at me. “Come back over here, Kenny. I’m not going to hurt you… though you definitely shouldn’t trust people when they say that. That’s a great way to wind up on a milk carton. Do you want your picture on every milk carton in the country, Kenny? You’ll be famous.”

“No thanks. I’d rather be famous for my bottle collection.” That made Pete laugh again.

“Oh, I agree. Being famous for being obsessed with bottles is much more entertaining than getting your picture slapped onto a bunch of dairy stuff. Seriously, though. Hand it over. We don’t know how long it’s been out there. And we might need to head to my house if I can’t get it open with my knife.”

I couldn’t think of a way to argue with that. And the part of me that was confused had gone to sleep. Pete was my friend and wanted to help me. I was the one who asked, so I shouldn’t waste his time. It was the least I could do, especially if the message turned out to be a treasure map.

I wasn’t certain of the odds of that, but I wanted to believe I could beat them. So, I handed over the bottle and watched as Pete turned it this way and that. He didn’t say anything, but I could tell he was admiring the way the growing light reflected off of the glass. It didn’t have any designs itself, but I still thought it was pretty.

And Pete must’ve felt the same way because he’s my friend. That’s all that mattered. Pete sat down and placed the bottle between his legs, bringing the knife next to the bottleneck with his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth. It would have been funny a few minutes ago. “Pete?”

“I’m not going to break it. I’m testing the seal. Sometimes, you have to start at the bottom before you can reach the top.”

I didn’t know if that was true, but I did nothing as Pete tapped the knife against the glass for several seconds before looking at me and shrugging. “What’s wrong, Pete?”

“Did you even try to open this by yourself?”

“Um…” I was sure I had, but I couldn’t remember doing so. Pete chuckled and gave the bottle back to me.

“Here. Pull the plug gently. There’s no need to put your back into it.”

I looked at the plug and back at Pete for a minute before doing as he said. The plug was smooth and wet. It squished between my fingers, but I still had to tug it free, letting the smell of rotten seaweed fill the air as Pete turned his face away. “Yep, that’s what I thought. Hurry and get the message out before we suffocate, boy.”

I didn’t need to be told twice. The smell made me want to puke, but I tipped the bottle over, grabbed the paper, and shoved the plug back in with a sigh. The paper felt normal. As in normal everyday notebook paper. Just like the kind I used in school. And it was dry. Since the plug was damp, I didn’t know how that could be, but my kid brain didn’t care.

I had a brand new bottle and a mysterious message. I refused to let anything, be it glaringly odd or really obvious, get in the way of my victory. Even the fact that Pete was already lying down on his chair didn’t faze me. I unrolled the paper and felt my grin split my face.

Hello, you who have opened a random bottle you found somewhere.

My name is not important.

Do not waste time trying to find me.

You’ll never figure it out!

What is important is the mission I have for you.

And I don’t regret to say that it’s already too late for you to refuse.

Opening the bottle and reading these words has sealed your fate, but your sacrifice will not be in vain.

For you have proven your courage and curiosity!

You’ll be fine unless you’re a cat or something that looks like a cat. If you’re a talking cat, your fate is sealed, but I digress.

Your task is to save the world.

That’s right.

Planet Earth.

Your home.

You must save it.

How will you do this?

Simple!

By fighting a monster that should arrive within ten days or so of you opening the bottle.

Why is it coming to your planet?

Because the bottle led it to your world.

Why your planet instead of, say, the one that sent this message?

Because no one else wants to deal with this monster!

But we have faith in you, young hero, who hopefully isn’t a cat—a talking cat is still worthy of being a hero!

We have faith that you can do this.

But don’t worry!

You’re getting more than a glorious death defending everything you know and love!

But we’ll let the Message assume full-autonomous control and explain the rest.

Good luck and remember.

There’s no point in crying or trying to hide.

The monster will arrive in about a week, and your planet doesn’t have the technology to evacuate in time.

Also, I repeat: Don’t bother trying to find me!

I understand this seems unfair.

But that’s life, even on planets far greater than yours!

I’m no one you know, and you have no chance of ever meeting me!