500 Writing Prompts

Prompt #1

While at the beach you decide to write a message in a bottle. What would it say? Who would you like to find it?

That evening, I found myself at the edge of the shore where I spent the summers of my childhood. I sunk down into the soft sand, letting the waves tickle the soles of my feet, and, raising my head to face the starry sky, I closed my eyes, breathing to the rhythm of the sea.

After my senses had combined with the calm salty breeze and the quiet darkness, I looked down to my right, where I had placed an old glass Coca Cola bottle, empty and sans label. I dug into the pockets of my sundress and removed my favorite red Sharpie, an old Target receipt, and a cork.

I stared at the items for a minute, not sure if my message would ever be received, or it would matter to anyone anyway.

And what if it did? What if someone read what I had to say and actually responded? What would happen then?

Chewing on my bottom lip, I flattened the receipt against my thigh and picked up the Sharpie, uncapping it with my teeth. I could see just enough in the moonlight to scribble my message in scrawling handwriting along the long strip of paper - hopefully whoever read it wouldn't worry too much about the extensive amount of baking supplies I was buying.

My hand was shaking, but I wrote:

Dear friend,
What is it like beyond the horizon?
Will you find me?
Can you rescue me?
-H

The last words hardly fit on the paper; I had to condense the size of my handwriting. I hoped it was legible.

Maybe I should've written this earlier, when I could see.

I exhaled. I hadn't realized I was holding my breath while writing the message.

Squeezing the receipt between my knees so the wind couldn't steal my words away, I removed the cap from between my teeth and capped the marker, shoving it back into my right pocket. I took the paper carefully and rolled it up, being sure it was coiled tightly so the thin neck of the bottle would be able to swallow it. It fit easily in its envelope, and I picked up the bottle and cork.

Courage.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed back a strand of hair which had fallen out of my ponytail and into my face and shoved the cork into the mouth of the bottle, sealing my letter. I folded my legs and sat on my knees, holding the bottle carefully in my hands.

What if the bottle broke? What if it simply returned to this shoreline? What if the message gets wet and withers away, erasing my words - my cry for help - for ever?

I stood up on shaky legs and shook my head in determination.

I will do this.

My feet guided me through the lapping water, moving like they had a thousand times after years of surfing and splashing in the waves. I pushed through the water until it reached my shoulders, soaking my sundress and the tips of my hair. I held the bottle over my head, and, after one final deep breath, threw it as far as I could into the water.

I did not watch to see where it traveled. I simply turned around and let the waves push me back to the sand.

I touched my pocket when I had returned to shore. The Sharpie was gone.

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a/n- Hey, y'all!! i've been getting messages for a while now asking why this hasn't been updated. answer: 1) i sort of kept forgetting 2) i was more concerned about my book speak (which also hasn't been updated much) 3) i've been getting busier and busier for the past few years and haven't found the time 4) i was sort of scared to start this. after first reading the first prompt, i realized i had no clue where to begin. i decided to take a different spin on the prompt than i initially would've and to turn it into more of a story than a response.

i hope you guys like this take on the topic and i hope to see your responses to the prompts from the book!!

if y'all write your own response to the prompt, please send it to me/comment about it/dedicate it to me/do something so i can read your lovely writing!

thank you for being patient and hopefully i'll get the next prompt on here soon

-✌🏻