More than two decades ago, a 10-year-old schoolgirl threw a bottle into the sea off the coast of Hull as she went on a ship on a family holiday, hoping to get a response from a stranger in a faraway land. Inside the bottle was a scrawled letter from Zoe Lemon, a youngster with a love of "ballet, playing the flute and the piano", who had just boarded a ship heading for a holiday in Germany. She told her expected recipients of her pet hamster and fish, both called Sparkle, and her parents who were both teachers. Miss Lemon, of Salford, Greater Manchester, soon forgot about her act of fantastic, eventually marrying and having a child herself. But this Christmas she was extremely surprised to receive a reply after 23 years. It turned out to be a reply to her letter from Piet and Jacqueline Lateur from near Rotterdam. Mr Lateur was walking his dog in the Oosterschelde dykes , near where he and his wife live in Serooskerke, when he found the bottle with Zoe's letter inside. Mrs Averianov, 33, who works in a jewellery shop, said: "It's been a bit crazy really. My parents came to visit on Christmas day and they had this letter from Europe addressed to my , Lemon. Since receiving the letter, Mrs Averianov has been in contact with Mr Lateur via email and asked to see photographs of where the bottle was found. He told her: "I am keeping your little letter on my piano. I know you are no longer a little girl but you asked me to write you so I have." Mrs Averianov's father, John Lemon, 68, had encouraged his daughter to throw the message into the sea on a family holiday and now she is considering doing the same for her five-year-old son Maksim. She said: "I'll probably wait until he's a bit older and can understand and write a letter, but maybe we'll do it by attaching it to a balloon." From , (Jan,2014) What can we know about the letter written 23 years ago?
Its reply was received by Zoe herself. It is still carefully kept by Mr Lateur. Zoe was sure it would be replied one day. Zoe's father discouraged her from writing it.