Watchman Discovers Message in a Bottle from the Past, It Makes Him Rich Days Later — Story of the Day

A night watchman makes a life-changing discovery when he picks up a message in a bottle and resolves to find the sender, no matter what.

Joe had worked as a night watchman in a factory since he graduated high school five years ago. It was a lonely job, but he was content. He stopped by the beach every day on his way home to watch the sunrise.

One day, he was walking on the beach when he noticed a bottle in the surf. Joe picked it up, thinking he would throw it away, when he saw a roll of paper inside it.

Joe's heart beat faster. It was a bona fide message in a bottle! He uncorked the lid and opened the letter.

'Hi! My name is Ritchie. I'm sending this message in the hope that somebody will find it and become my friend.'

Joe frowned at the page. It saddened him to think of this boy waiting and hoping somebody would answer his message. He took his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the number written near the bottom of the page.

Immediately, he heard an automated message stating that the number didn't exist anymore. Joe hung up and headed back up the beach. He was about to throw the bottle away, but he hesitated.

"I'm going to find this Ritchie kid," Joe said.

Although he was tired, Joe made another stop at the library.

"Good morning," Joe greeted the older woman at the front desk. "I hope you can help me. I'm looking for old telephone books."

"That's not something we hear every day." The librarian gave him an amused smile. "Come this way."

Joe followed the librarian to a section of the library that felt deserted. There, she pointed him to shelves filled with old telephone books.

He'd finally found Ritchie, but Ritchie wasn't the boy he'd pictured in his imagination.

"Wow. I didn't think there'd be so many," Joe said. He stifled a yawn.

"What are you looking for?" The librarian asked. "Maybe I can help?"

Joe showed her the message he found on the beach. The librarian became very excited when he told her he wanted to locate Ritchie. She sat down with him, and they searched the telephone books for Ritchie's phone number together.

Two hours later, Joe was about to fall asleep at the table when the librarian let out an excited squeal.

"I found him!"

She slid the old book across to him.

"Thank you," Joe said, quickly copying down the address.

"That's what librarians are for, honey." She winked at him. "Just make sure you come back here to tell me what happens when you go to that house."

Joe promised to return, but he was too tired to investigate the address. He went home, slept, and dreamed of finding the boy who wrote the message.

He spent his entire shift wondering what Ritchie would look like and what he would think of Joe, the night watchman who found his message. His curiosity was overwhelming. When his shift ended, Joe immediately headed for the address from the phone book.

He almost screamed when he saw that the house at the address had been converted into a hair salon. Joe stared at the sign. He held the message from the bottle in one fist and the paper with the address in the other.

"We aren't open yet."

Joe turned and found a man with greying temples and a well-styled mustache behind him.

Would Ritchie even remember the message he threw into the ocean so many years ago?

"I'm not here for my hair," Joe replied. "I'm looking for the people who used to live here."

"You mean the Allens?" The man frowned.

"I'm looking for Ritchie."

"Ritchie... yeah, that was the son's name. His mama was a widow and raised him alone. Never complained either, though it can't have been easy taking care of a kid in a wheelchair by herself."

"Ritchie is in a wheelchair?"

"Since he was a kid." The man studied him through narrowed eyes. "Why are you looking for Ritchie Allen? You're a little young to have known him or his mama when they lived here."

"I'm not looking for trouble. I want to find him because of this." Joe handed the man the message from the bottle.

The man raised his eyebrows as he read the note. "Where'd you get this?"

"It washed ashore on the beach in a bottle."

"Ritchie sent out a message in a bottle?" The man pressed a hand to his chest. "That's so sweet and sad. It must've been drifting out in the ocean for years and years."

"Why?"

"Well, he's an old man now. If you still want to find him, I hear he's at the Serenity nursing home."

Joe couldn't believe what he was hearing. He'd finally found Ritchie, but Ritchie wasn't the boy he'd pictured in his imagination. Instead, Ritchie was an older man.

Would Ritchie even remember the message he threw into the ocean so many years ago? He must've given up hope that anybody would find it, which was all the more reason to deliver the message to him now. Joe thanked the man and drove to the nursing home.

After asking to see Ritchie, a nurse showed Joe to a sunlit room where an older man in a wheelchair was looking out the window.

"You have a visitor, Mr. Allen," the nurse said.

Ritchie turned around and stared at Joe.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Joe introduced himself and explained why he was there. He then held out the message to Ritchie.

"I remember writing this," Ritchie said. "I was born with a spinal defect, and it was lonely being the kid who couldn't play as the others could. I spent a lot of time reading, and one day, I decided to try an unusual method to find a friend."

Ritchie smiled. "A message in a bottle, just like in the stories. It didn't work, unfortunately."

"Yes, it did. It may have taken a couple of years, but I found your message. I'm here now, and I'd like to be your friend, Ritchie."

Ritchie grinned at him.

After that, Joe visited Ritchie every day. They found out they liked many of the same books and movies and shared a similar sense of humor. Joe was thankful he'd persevered to find Ritchie, but unfortunately, their time as friends would be short.

One day, Joe arrived at the nursing home only to learn that Ritchie had passed away the previous night. Joe was sad, but he was even sadder to find out that Ritchie had no family to mourn him.

Joe attended the funeral and was surprised when a lawyer approached him afterward and told him that Ritchie had left Joe half a million dollars.

"He thought very highly of you," the lawyer said, "because you didn't give up on finding the person who sent out a message looking for friends."

What can we learn from this story?

• Never give up. Despite how difficult it was to track down Ritchie, Joe never gave up because he knew Ritchie was hoping to receive an answer.
• Friendship can cross all barriers. Even though there was a significant age difference and they didn't know each other for long, Ritchie and Joe shared common interests that allowed them to build a true friendship.

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If you enjoyed this story, you might like this one about a woman whose search for her father ends in the nursing home where she works.

This piece is inspired by stories from the everyday lives of our readers and written by a professional writer. Any resemblance to actual names or locations is purely coincidental. All images are for illustration purposes only. Share your story with us; maybe it will change someone’s life. If you would like to share your story, please send it to info@amomama.com.