A MESSAGE in a bottle thrown into the sea off the coast of Mallorca by a young German expat back in November 2022 has been discovered thousands of kilometres away on the Italian coast, and has prompted a heartwarming response from the Italian man who found it.
“Dear stranger,” reads the note that was discovered in a sealed bottle. “On this beautiful sunny day, I am sending this message in a bottle on your journey and I am very curious to see who will find it. My name is Tillmann, I am 11 years old and I live in Mallorca.”
The youngster also wrote about his hobbies, which include reading, Lego, football, nature, history and astronomy.
Amazingly, the vessel and its missive made a 1,400-kilometre journey to the coast of Naples, where it was discovered on a beach by Dario Grande, a 38-year-old Italian, who shared his amazing find on Instagram.
After translating the text from Tillmann’s native German, Dario wrote a response.
“Dear Tillmann, my name is Dario, I live in Bacoli and we have a lot of interests in common,” he wrote. “Your message is the best thing that has happened to me lately.
“It’s a grey and rainy day here today,” he continued. “There is a strong wind with very high waves. It is really true that storms sometimes bring hopeful messages that challenge the sea to reach those seeking answers. To imagine this bottle, with a message inside, travelling for months and crossing the entire Tyrrhenian Sea until it reaches the beach of my city, is the most magical and true thing that can exist these days and is in itself a message.
“You see, Tillmann, today everything has become so immediate and superficial!” Dario wrote. “We no longer look each other in the eye and even feelings are transmitted through social networks. To know that little dreamers like you are growing up in the world is hope for the future. Tomorrow morning, in the same way, I will send a message using your bottle, hoping it will reach a dreamer like us. I hope to meet you one day in Mallorca.”
But the story has one last twist. Dario has actually managed to make contact with little Tillman.
“Dear friends, I’m delighted to announce to you that I have contacted the family of our little dreamer,” he wrote via social media. Tillmann, he said, “knows that his message has arrived.”
Where Dario’s message in a bottle will eventually end up is yet to be seen.
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