There’s something magical, even romantic, about the idea of finding a message in a bottle.
It evokes dreams of far-off shipwrecks and intimate capsules from the past.
But, in fact, the reality of finding such a missive can be a lot more prosaic – and even downright disturbing – as one couple discovered last week.
The pair, named Rick and Crystal, were enjoying a seaside stroll on a beach in North Queensland, Australia, when they spotted a mysterious bottle in the waves.
Filming their find for TikTok, Rick grabbed the clear, glass container, which contained a piece of paper along with what looked like sand, and handed it to his partner to open up.
Realising the neck was too narrow for her fingers, they tipped it upside down, sending the dusty-looking contents pouring out.
Crystal was still unable to pull out the note, but she managed to read it through the murky glass.
“Here lies the ashes of Geoffrey,” she said, before blurting out “argh” with horror.
Continuing, she read: “If found, please throw the bottle in the outgoing tide so I can continue my journey.”
Realising that they had just chucked away the cremated remains of a man and ruined his final wish, Rick replied awkwardly: Oops.”
@auslapourwayThis was not a set up, it was a total accident. #FNQGeoffrey#ashes#ooops#soz#gatheredGeoffbackbinbottle#thrownbackout
Their video racked up more than 1.8 million views and 234,000 likes in just five days, as thousands of fellow TikTokers shared their morbid glee at the alleged mishap.
“Looks like his journey has ended twice” wrote one commentator.
“Well anyways welcome to Australia Geoff,” joked another.
“Omg that’s my dad,” wrote a third, along with a grimacing emoji.
“Okay but why would you put a message in a bottle and not think someone would open it?” mused a fourth.
A fifth suggested that the couple may not have been the first to may the mistake.
“Wonder how full the bottle was originally,” they wrote, to which Rick replied: “Haha yer we thought that.”
A sixth recommended that the pair “just put some sand back in there and chuck it back in”.
“No one will ever know,” they added.
“That’s exactly what I did,” Rick admitted in response.
“Tried to get all of him back in there. Felt bad bro.”
Well, even if Geoff’s physical journey ended there, at least he’s now travelled the world through social media.
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