On the open sea, a small ship travelled with no land in sight. It ran with a skeleton crew, and the captain was never sure of her direction. Hoping that one day the waves would take her to where she needed to be. One never expected a gale to hit so massive it would throw her off course.

   A hurricane struck. Its strength and size unfathomable. For a moment, the captain didn’t know if she should waste her energy keeping the ship afloat. That was until she saw the crew, trying their best to keep course, and doing everything they could to make sure the vessel didn’t go under. The captain soon joined in the effort, fighting tooth and nail through wind and rain. Even when she thought her efforts were hopeless, she still fought.

   The captain had proved her worth. There were things that the crew had missed, or maybe ignored, that were vital to the journey. She had jumped overboard in the biting cold of the open sea and thrashing of the deadly waves. Pieces of the hull, sail, and other vital parts of the ship that needed to be salvaged sat amongst the waves. Only she could see that they shouldn’t be left to the open waters. Once one arm was as full as could be, she used the other to climb back up the side of her vessel, barely hanging on. Her crew reached out and lifted her and her salvage up to the deck, and helped get everything back in its place.

   Even so, the ship was still getting torn apart. It felt like it would never end. The captain kept fighting to keep the hull above water. Then, something strange happened. The crew had started slowing down. There was a storm raging, and they were acting like it was nothing. The rain still bit the captain’s face, and the wind still rang in her ears, but for them, it was already over. 

But for her, the storm never ended.

   The ship was still losing pieces. The captain jumped overboard again to salvage what she could. Every time, it felt like she was able to grab less and less, and had to give up more and more to the waves. Climbing back up to the hull only became harder, as the crew couldn’t see her struggle anymore. She had to drag herself back without assistance. Doing so, more of the ship fell back to the sea on her climb. No one seemed to care for the pieces lost, save the captain. They all acted as if the ship was still whole, like it wasn’t fighting to stay above water.

But for her, the storm never ended.

   Eventually, the cold wasn’t just coming from the months-long hurricane, but from the crew as well. They went from helping her, to ignoring her, to actively telling the captain she shouldn’t be jumping overboard anymore. Even though the captain could clearly see the hull getting torn apart time and time again, they couldn’t see it. They couldn’t see that the ship was still sinking. It never stopped.

The storm never ended.

   As captain, she had to listen to her crew. There was no other choice. If they wanted to pilot a skeleton of a ship, so be it. An echoing sense of duty had found its way to her heart. So, with the rain still biting her face, and the sound of a monstrous gale still ringing in her ears, she took the helm back for the first time. Her hands slipped from the wheel, and the stinging cold never stopped, but her crew was content. They continued on as if the skies were clear.

But the storm still hadn’t ended.

   Appearances and duty were what mattered now. The captain could see that. The crew were happy that she was back to the helm. With pieces of her vessel being lost, and it being torn apart at the seams, the captain steered the ship in any direction that looked sensible. Continuing her journey, the vessel never sank, and though her crew couldn’t feel the forceful waves, the biting rain, or the raging winds, her captain continued fighting through it without them. As long as she could keep them above water, the captain started to become content herself.

But the storm hadn’t ended. She just learned to fight through it.

Rest in Peace Jackie. Your daughter makes a fine captain.