Three Black Bottles

On an nearby archipelago, cottagers pass their time making a peculiar sort of black bottle from the volcanic sand. When each bottle is done, they write instructions on a piece of paper, enclose the paper in the bottle with a smear of wax, and place the sealed bottle into the currents that pass near the beaches.

The currents form an unpredictable path of circulation around the island system, one too treacherous for boats. Having been passed about the system for a certain amount of time, the bottle comes to rest on another shore. A recepient finds the bottle in the sand, and is obligated to follows the instructions therein.

The culture of this archipelago, then, is one of mutual deity. Each cottager knows that their fellows author bottles just as they do. Far from debunking the process, this lends a lofty character to the most humble fellow inhabitant. What is more--to receive your own bottle back is not a demystification, but a more intimate relation with acting fate.