Challenges

 The woman wrote the hardships she had been facing in a letter which read, “I’ve had many obstacles, my heart has been broken a ton of times, I lost the roof over my head and almost my way, but I’m trying to get back my house, my direction, and my progress.” She took the letter and visited the church.

 Praying

Chila took this letter to the church of Our Lady of Regla and placed it inside a wine bottle, hoping her wishes would come true someday. After that she threw the bottle in Havana Bay, thinking that she had just let go of her desires, dreams, and aspirations in the open sea. Not knowing that this message would come to no other than Alfredo in Florida. Not knowing that Alfredo was the best person to whom this letter could ever reach.

Connections

Alfredo too was once a resident of Cuba but with the Cuban Revolution, he came to Florida. Not only did he share the same background with Chila, their nationality, language was also the same. But this wasn’t all. In his free time, Alfredo too was a musician. And what could be better than that?

Contacting Her

Alfredo used the internet to locate Chila. He found her official email address and dropped her a mail there. Initially, Chila thought someone has been playing a prank on her, but when she realized that it was exactly the same letter she wrote, she couldn’t believe it. She was ecstatic. Her prayers were answered.

Higher Power

Chila said her prayers had been answered because the message in a bottle, the cry for help was not intended for any person. Rather she had never hoped or expected that a person will find it and would even take the pains of finding her. The message was for someone above this world, the higher the power, the ultimate Mother.

Faith

Chila’s message in that bottle was all a matter of her faith in the divine. In Cuba, they are believers of Afro-Cuban religion. They are followers of a system called orishas. The believers have faith that orishas are godly spirits that take a human form. And Chila wrote this letter to one such orisha.