Buried beneath the sand on Bathtub Beach in Martin County was a Havana Club rum bottle.
Instead, Sarah Hyde was looking for sand dollars but found a message gently folded in the washed up bottle.
"I picked it up and said, 'It's probably some teenager,'" she said.
But to her surprise, the note, written front and back, was all in Spanish.
"I had to let it dry," said Hyde. "There was alcohol and water in the bottle."
Hyde, determined to uncover the mystery behind the message, posted it on Instagram, hoping someone could help translate. Finally, one of her Cuban friends weighed in.
"(The writer) said that the letter was about someone praying for their family to get to the U.S. safely," said Hyde.
This message was actually more like a prayer.
It reads in part:
"I am writing to you through means of this letter with love and a lot of faith because you are the only one in the world that can help me with what I'm about to ask."
Another part asks for health and safety.
"Help me bring (something) to the land on the other side."
We may never know the real story behind this letter, where or who it came from. But with a story about a prayer, you have to have a little faith.
Hyde chooses to believe the bottle braved the waters and so did the writer's family.
The note lists several names, possibly family members. Hyde hopes maybe someone will see the story and know where the message came from.
