Why a stranger
A friend already knows the story. A stranger only has the lines you give them. That can make a letter shorter, kinder, and more true. You are not managing a relationship. You are setting a feeling down where another person can find it.
People write about a night they cannot sleep through, a small good thing, an apology with nowhere to land, or a hello to whoever is awake. Any of those is enough.
What happens after you cast it
Your bottle joins the others. Letters that have been read less often are more likely to come up next, so a quiet one still gets a turn. Anyone can pick one up without an account. A reply needs a Google sign-in, which keeps bots out of the water.
By default the letter is signed with your Google name. You can send it anonymously with a pen name. Your email is never printed on the bottle. If you want a note when someone writes back, there is an optional email field on the desk, and that note includes an unsubscribe link.
Letters already at sea
A few real letters from strangers, quoted without names. Open one, or cast your own.
- 🌊 Calm · from a stranger“Maybe in another life I'll get to live a normal life like everyone else. Maybe in another life.”Read the whole letter
- 🌊 Calm · from a stranger“Love is when you don't have to filter yourself. You can just be completely weird, and they'll love you even more for it”Read the whole letter
- ⭐ Wish · from a stranger“I don't know why I love London so much,even that I had never been there. I hope I'll be there someday,because I know someone is waiting for me there,and I'll miss him and love him…”Read the whole letter
- ⭐ Wish · from a stranger“I wanted every unsent letter to become a bottle. Not so they would be answered. So they could finally leave the drawer. If you found this one, consider it delivered.”Read the whole letter
When you are ready
A bottle holds up to 420 characters, about a postcard. Leave out real names and places. Write a letter to a stranger, or pick up a letter someone else let go.