Three Evil Wishes Read Free

let out a sigh of relief. Nothing spooky or weird about a bottle. Someone probably threw it in the lake after a picnic.
    I was about to drop the bottle back into the water, when I noticed something strange about it. It should have been cold—but it felt warm. Warmer than my hand.
    I held on to the bottle as I hunted for my backpack.
    â€œFound it,” I called to Jesse, who was already onshore.
    I dredged up my backpack. Gross. It was muddy and covered with clumps of soggy green weeds.
    I waded back to shore with the bottle and my backpack. “Hey, Jess. Check out this bottle. It feels warm and—”
    The bottle jerked in my hand!
    I nearly dropped it.
    Did something move inside it? Was something alive in there?
    I tried to peer through the brown glass. But it was thick and dirty. I couldn’t see a thing.
    Get a grip, Hannah! I thought to myself. Nothing could be living in this old bottle.
    I turned to Jesse. He frowned as he stared at his mud-soaked backpack. “Totally ruined,” he moaned, shaking his head. “Now I have to tell Dad about my sneakers and my backpack. He’ll freak. He’ll totally freak.”
    I began to answer Jesse, when I felt my hand grow warmer. The bottle was heating up! It jerked in my hand again. Harder this time.
    Something very weird was going on here. I set the bottle down in the grass. I didn’t want to hold on to it another second.
    â€œHey, what’s that?” Jesse asked, nodding his head toward the bottle.
    â€œWhat does it look like, brain? It’s a bottle I found in the lake.”
    â€œWow. It looks really old,” he said, bending down to examine it.
    He reached out and picked it up. “Yuck! It’s . . . it’s hot!”
    So I wasn’t going crazy! There really was something strange about that bottle.
    Jesse held it up to the sun. He squinted his eyes, trying to peer inside.
    â€œIs there a note inside? People always do that in the movies.”
    â€œI found this in the lake, Jesse. People don’t throw bottles with notes in them in a lake. They throw them in the ocean to see how far they will travel.”
    â€œHey, maybe it’s got money inside!” Jesse cried. He tried even harder to see through the dark brown glass. He shook the bottle.
    â€œOh, yeah, people are always throwing bottles filled with money into the lake.” I scowled at my brother. “Look, just put it down, okay? We’re soaked. We have to go home and change.”
    Jesse ignored me as he squinted at the bottle. “Hey, it feels as if it’s getting even warmer.”
    â€œJess, put it down!” I insisted. My voice quivered.
    â€œWhat’s your problem, Hannah? It’s just a bottle.” He turned it around in his hand, inspecting every inch. “I’m going to open it.”
    â€œNo! Wait!” I cried. I grabbed the bottle from him. “There’s something written on the side. Maybe it’s important.”
    â€œIf you say so.” Jesse sighed.
    A yellow label clung to the side of the bottle. The letters on it were so faded, I could barely make them out.
    â€œÂ â€˜Danger,’ ” I read out loud. “ ‘Do not open.’ ”
    The bottle began to vibrate in my hand.
    I jumped.
    This was definitely not my imagination.
    I dropped the bottle back to the ground and kicked it away. “This bottle is bad news. I’m not opening it! I don’t even want it near me!”
    It sat there on its side in the grass. Then, slowly, it rolled back to me.
    â€œDid you see that, Jesse?” I whispered. “It—it moved on its own!”
    Jesse groaned and picked up the bottle again. “It just rolled. Bottles do that.”
    â€œLet’s go,” I urged. “I told you what it says on the label. We are not supposed to open this bottle.”
    Jesse took hold of the cork. “That’s stupid.”
    â€œNo, Jesse,