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Scifi and Fantasy Forum: Writer's Showcase: SF/F Short Stories:
Bottled
Bottled
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I suppose this could be considered a fantasy.
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There was a man who lived in a bottle. It was a fairly comfortable bottle, made of strong glass and plugged with a nice, firm cork. He had lived in it his entire life.
For a long time he was happy. The bottle was well furnished, and he could look through the glass at the outside world. Sometimes someone would even wave to him. Though at times he did wonder what life was like outside the bottle, he was generally content. He did not really think he was missing anything: he had everything he needed, and inside the bottle he was safe from the dirty things of the outside world, such as hatred, war, greed, and the I.R.S.
Then came a night when he was awake past his normal bedtime. He had overindulged on Fig Newtons and could not sleep. He sat up watching television in the dark and wishing that there was a bottle of antacid in his bottle. Nothing good was on and his attention wandered. Looking out the window he saw a pair of lovers strolling slowly arm-in-arm down the street in the soft paleness of the moonlight. He waved but they did not notice, so rapt were they in each other. They passed around the corner and out of sight.
The man lay back in his recliner and sighed deeply. Suddenly he felt very lonely. His television no longer seemed such an engaging companion. He turned off the lamp and lay awake in the night, staring up at the round moon through the glass.
Eventually he dozed off, or at least he thought he did, for he seemed to awake from something the next morning. He knew what he was going to do. After eating a balanced breakfast and getting dressed, he rolled up his sleeves and went to work at the cork. He thrust his entire weight against it, every muscle in his body straining as he tried to push the cork out. It did not budge.
Defeated, he slumped down against the side of the bottle and mentally abused himself. How could he ever have expected to move the cork? He was foolish to think he could escape his comfortably-furnished bottle. After a few hours he got up and began reading a book on eighteenth-century indoor plumbing.
He awoke with a start. What was that noise? He looked around until he saw a young boy run by, playing with his dog. The man who lived in the bottle had never had a dog, as dogs typically do not do well in bottles, no matter how comfortable they may be—the bottles; not the dogs, that is.
He resolved to try moving the cork again the next morning. And indeed, the first thing he did (after eating only part of a balanced breakfast) was labor against the cork for hours. Again, it did not move. Again, he inflicted mental self-abuse on himself.
Then he saw a young mother pushing a baby-bearing stroller down the lane. The man who lived in the bottle decided to try again.
And so on it went, for I can’t tell you how many days and night. Each morning he tried to pop the cork. Each time he failed and surrendered. And each time, he saw something outside that made him try again.
He rose one morning and did not bother dressing or eating a balanced breakfast—or even an imbalanced breakfast. His face was scruffy and his clothes were shabby. He applied himself to the cork, his shoulder finding its familiar dent in the material. He pushed and pushed until the veins on his neck and forehead stood out from his sweaty skin. His joints cracked in pain and his teeth gnashed against each other.
He groaned and fell. The bottle swam around him. He lay on the bottom and wept bitterly. It was no use; it was over. Sniffing and trembling, he propped himself up against the cork and slouched against it in a miserable heap.
POP.
That is honestly one of the best stories I have ever read on this site. It is a simple story, not given to excessive explanation. I found it entertaining and thoughtful. That should be your goal as a writer.
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I wasn't sure what to make of it, to be honest. It's different, I guess. That's good. I'm just not sure what else to say.. 
Ever tried to do something very difficult? Ever tried to do that thing for a long time, and when you finally think you've failed... POP!
That's what the story is about. Of course, it could also be seen as a story on an overly-protected or isolated life, or someone struggling to overcome the limits placed on him, but you get it.
Yeah, I think I idenify!  lol.
Posted By:  Bmat Mar 13, 2005 - 06:18 pm |       | I liked it, too. I didn't realize that's what the story was about.
I was thinking that it was about being content with one's lot until one observed what someone else had. Struggling against the limits surrounding one's life to obtain the same thing that others had. And achieving the goal.
On a different level, the story also means that a person is happy enough with his daily existence but feels that there is something more than the physical existence. He studies and tries to obtain enlightenment, or higher understanding. Which at the end of the story he reaches.
There ya go. Your story means different things to different people. Little did you know... 
Actually, Bmat, it could mean all of those things, and when I was writing it I was aware that it could. I guess I am just a profound person. 
Profound, yes. Are you profound enough to FedEx a nice sandwich to my house? I didn't think so. I'm hungry....
I am profound enough to make a nice sandwich and eat it myself. If you want, I can take a picture of me eating it and show it to you.
Ooh. That would be a very nice thing indeed. I think we will be good friends.
I liked it, too. Great story.
Thanks, gnollslayer. I appreciate it.
| Posted By: Magus Mar 26, 2005 - 07:09 pm | | 
Nice job there! I liked it. It worked well and had a very simplistic yet profound message to it.
I just have one question, did they even have indoor plumbing in the 18th century? I was under the impression that they used privies back then.
Uum... I wasn't aware it was set in the 18th century.
*whacks self in head*
Never mind, I just realized what you were talking about. Nit pickah!
Thanks anyway, though.
| Posted By: Magus Mar 27, 2005 - 04:55 am | |
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