I don't know the 'the bottle short story' well enough to say for sure, but it could be a lonely fisherman who discovers the bottle and a mysterious figure whose message is in the bottle.
As I haven't read the story, it's hard to tell. Maybe there is a young child who finds the bottle and an old storyteller who helps the child understand the significance of what's inside. Another possibility could be a shipwrecked sailor and the person who eventually finds the bottle with the sailor's last words.