I’m rather fond of this piece. It somehow reminds

me of the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey".   "(A transparent) ray of time" is a stroke of genius.  All in all a sweet, suspenseful read.  "Gasp" would actually work for me, as it evokes this image of the finder of the bottle and this genie of an old soul slumbering inside for centuries scaring each other half to death, but only if you intended such a funny twist.