The Bottle Imp: The Price of Saving You

The cheapest miracle

Keawe paid one cent for a bottle that could grant his wishes. Its owner looked at the coin—and began to cry with relief.

Read the conditions

There were two rules. Die owning it, and your soul was lost. Escape meant selling it for less than you paid.

What he wanted

Keawe knew no smaller coin. But he was gravely ill, and he loved Kokua. He asked the bottle to make him well.

After the wedding

His strength returned. They married. Yet each night, while Kokua slept, he watched the darkness gather inside the glass.

Another way

Kokua thought she had made him unhappy. When he finally told her, she took his hands. “You forgot the rest of the world.”

A little room

In Tahiti, one American cent was worth about five centimes. Kokua took him there. They needed a buyer willing to pay four.

The part nobody wanted

Nobody would. Every buyer wanted the wishes—until they heard what happened to the last owner.

Her secret

One night, Kokua found an old man. She gave him four centimes to buy it from Keawe. Then she would pay him three.

Three centimes

The old man returned with the bottle. Her hand recoiled. Then she reached again, and paid.

His turn to sleep

Keawe slept peacefully for the first time. Beside him, Kokua lay awake. She had moved the fear from his pillow to hers.

The hidden price

He mistook her silence for coldness. Then he found her alone with the bottle. At last, he understood what his freedom had cost.

The last offer

He asked a sailor to buy it from her for two centimes. Keawe would buy it back for one. This time, he would keep the fear.

A buyer who stayed

But the sailor tried a wish—and refused to sell. Keawe warned him about damnation. The man pocketed the bottle anyway.

No bargain

Keawe begged him to reconsider. The sailor walked away. For once, keeping the bottle was somebody else’s choice.

Home without it

Keawe ran home. Kokua opened the door, and he showed her his empty hands. This time, neither of them had to pretend to smile.

The Bottle Imp: The Price of Saving You
By After Robert Louis Stevenson
The Bottle Imp. The Price of Saving You
Keawe paid one cent for a bottle that could grant his wishes. Its owner looked at the coin—and began to cry with relief.
There were two rules. Die owning it, and your soul was lost. Escape meant selling it for less than you paid.
Keawe knew no smaller coin. But he was gravely ill, and he loved Kokua. He asked the bottle to make him well.
His strength returned. They married. Yet each night, while Kokua slept, he watched the darkness gather inside the glass.
Kokua thought she had made him unhappy. When he finally told her, she took his hands. “You forgot the rest of the world.”
In Tahiti, one American cent was worth about five centimes. Kokua took him there. They needed a buyer willing to pay four.
Nobody would. Every buyer wanted the wishes—until they heard what happened to the last owner.
One night, Kokua found an old man. She gave him four centimes to buy it from Keawe. Then she would pay him three.
The old man returned with the bottle. Her hand recoiled. Then she reached again, and paid.
Keawe slept peacefully for the first time. Beside him, Kokua lay awake. She had moved the fear from his pillow to hers.
He mistook her silence for coldness. Then he found her alone with the bottle. At last, he understood what his freedom had cost.
He asked a sailor to buy it from her for two centimes. Keawe would buy it back for one. This time, he would keep the fear.
But the sailor tried a wish—and refused to sell. Keawe warned him about damnation. The man pocketed the bottle anyway.
Keawe begged him to reconsider. The sailor walked away. For once, keeping the bottle was somebody else’s choice.
Keawe ran home. Kokua opened the door, and he showed her his empty hands. This time, neither of them had to pretend to smile.

The Bottle Imp: The Price of Saving You

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