Evan
I still can’t believe I have to go to work.
I’m heading back to the States in about a month to move back permanently, yet I’m still expected to do a full handover of my work before I leave. I would’ve liked to spend that time packing, maybe taking a holiday somewhere, but I guess that’s the life of a salary man.
Tonight, I decided to go out for a pint after work. I normally don’t go to the pub on my own, but today had been especially bad. Between a frustrating client and everything else I had to deal with, I needed a scotch. So, off to the local pub I went.
While nursing my drink, I started scrolling through my socials, and my thoughts drifted back to that Message in a Bottle account.
They hadn’t responded yet, but they hadn’t blocked me either, so I guess that was a plus.
I decided to open a few more bottles.
Magic: The Gathering cards.
I recognized them, even though I’d never played. I was more of a Pokémon player myself.
The caption on the photo read:
“If I had kept my rares, I could have bought a house! 😭”
Oh, I recognized that sting.
My parents had gotten rid of my cards a long time ago, and I never quite recovered from that. Especially when I found out that my favorite rare Pikachu had sold on eBay for five figures.
I practically coughed up blood!
I wrote back:
“I feel ya, man. Like a knife through the heart.”
The next message bottle I opened was a picture of the beach. Actually, it was a short, ten-second video of waves rolling up onto the sand.
The caption read:
“I never expected to live so close to the beach. Funny where life takes you.”
The video brought me back to my first month in London and how I’d had to get used to taking the Tube or double-deckers to get around.
I was so used to driving everywhere, but driving here was a luxury, especially with the price of petrol. That, and the cars out here sucked. Nothing like back in the States.
I wrote back:
“I never expected to move from Louisiana to the UK. Huge culture shock, but I grew to love it.”
I started wondering what life was like for this person.
I had no idea who they were or what they were all about, but somehow, I felt connected to them through their journey. Their experiences reminded me of my own situation, and for the first time in a while, I started to feel a little less alone.
I decided to send out a bottle of my own, hoping maybe they’d open it.
I took a picture of my scotch with the pub in the background and added the caption:
“Maybe I’m really not as alone as I thought in this.”
I hit “send” and put down my phone.
Veronica
I’ve come to accept that life has a very strange way of getting us to where we need to be.
Just as I found out I was losing my job, I was given an offer to move to Florida.
There was a room available, and as long as I could get myself down there, it would be mine. My best friend’s mother owned the house and had offered to rent me a room.
I was grateful, of course, but Florida? Me? Really?!
Then again, the cost of living would be a lot cheaper than in New York, and there really wasn’t much left for me there.
Both my parents had moved out of state, and most of my friends were either married or had moved away long ago.
So, I rented a U-Haul, plugged the address into my GPS, and headed south.
I made a few pit stops along the way and somehow accidentally ended up at a classic car show. I still don’t know how I managed that, but I figured I might as well take advantage of the opportunity. I snapped a few pictures and sent one to my socials.
When I finally arrived in Florida, I discovered that the place I’d be staying was only about forty minutes from Disney.
Well, I had to go at least once.
The prices were ridiculous, but I did it anyway.
I snapped a photo of the iconic castle, tucked it into a message in a bottle, and sent it out into the world.
One of the first things I did after settling in was use some of my savings to buy a cheap car.
No more public transit for me.
Having a car was going to be a necessity here, and the first big trip I took in it was to the beach.
Back in New York, I used to take the train to Rockaway Beach or Fire Island by myself. It could take me two hours on public transit just to get there.
Here, all I had to do was drive an hour.
I sat on the beach for several hours, watching the waves roll in.
I felt kind of sad and alone, but strangely, I was okay.
I knew I was going to be fine. It was just going to take a while.
I took a short, ten-second video of the waves and posted it with the caption:
“I never expected to live so close to the beach. Funny where life takes you.”
I really hadn’t expected to end up living out here, but I’d decided to make the most of it.