Ocean kept a green glass bottle on the highest shelf.

It had a thick cork, a rope net around its belly, and a little brass ring at the neck. He had brought it home from somewhere across the sea. Whenever anyone asked where, the answer seemed to get farther.

Sophie had asked about it once.

“That,” her dad had said, “is for emergencies.”

“What kind?”

“The kind where you need an empty bottle. This one is great, pure magic this one.”

“Now, you’ve been going over old journals in this dark shed all morning. Go outside and catch some wind in your hair.”

Sophie had never been satisfied with his answers. And she liked the shed and the comic books.