\\ Sally //
triggerwarning: death
The salmon, known for exploring both saltwater and freshwater. Known for slipping through the sharp claws of bears on the hunt. And Sally, known as the most dangerous pirate the world had ever seen, known for escaping death at the last second and known for exploring all the rivers and the seas there were. The nickname Sally the salmon was formed pretty quick.
Next to captain Puffy the two were feared more than any sea creature that existed.
They were known for fighting for justice, and leaving a path of shipwrecks all over the world. Those with ill intentions that ever had the misfortune of upsetting captain Salmon, captain Puffy or anyone on their crew, would be left at the bottom of the ocean.
But even in their busy schedule Sally and Puffy returned to her home once every 6 months. The day their ship arrived at the dock was a magical day for anyone in their village. As they stood there waiting for the two women to swing from the mast and land right in front of their families. Puffy would be awaited by her lovely girlfriend Niki and her two sons while Sally would be welcomed by her husband Wilbur and her son Fundy. As a tradition they would celebrate each arrival with baked goods from Niki’s bakery and lots of stories about captain Salmon and captain Puffy
A month soon passed and Sally and Puffy had to leave their young sons and beloved partners behind already. Sally and Wilbur had gotten used to it already, knowing that the sea was what made Sally truly happy, but leaving her four year old son was still heartbreaking to her. But as the tides changed she gave her family one last hug and boarded the ship she loved so much.
Captain Salmon and Captain Puffy were hiding from the storm in their cabin one late November night, the thought of them seeing their families again in 3 weeks keeping them warm. The crew had gotten used to the stormy weather but this storm was especially bad. It was Sally’s turn to steer the boat, when it all went wrong. The storm only let her see a few feet in front of her. The wind was making the waves bigger than Sally had ever seen. And it was there and then, on the ship in the middle of a storm on november 15th everything changed.
Three days later the town found themselves on their way to the dock again, this time to only welcome a life raft filled with only 6 surviving crew members and one surviving captain and that was captain Puffy.
The shipwreck, losing her friends and the 3 days of starvation behind her, seeing Wilbur run to the dock with a sleeping toddler in his hands was what broke Puffy.
It took months for Puffy to finally forgive herself enough to visit Wilbur and his son, with cookies and flowers from her and Niki’s shop. ‘I’m sorry’ was all it took for the two of them to burst into tears, ‘she wouldn’t let me save her, she begged to go under with the ship.’
'In her last moments she asked me to tell you how much she loved you, and to tell both of you she was so incredibly proud of you two’
‘I tried to save her but she insisted the crew members take her place’ Puffy’s voice cracked once more.
Wilbur' s heart broke once more when hearing this, when losing someone close to you it's easy to forget other people are going trough the same thing. So he put a smile ln his face and said: 'She wouldn’t have wanted us to be sad about it, so why don't we follow the tradition and eat some cookies while listening to the tales of captain Salmon and captain Puffy,'' Will replied, his hand resting on his son's head who was nodding and smiling at the thought of cookies and stories.
And so it continued, every two weeks Will, Niki, Puffy and their children got together over some delicious desserts and talked about the many adventures of Sally and Puffy.
Puffy had traded her ship for a small therapist office, promising she would help everyone who needed it. And every week Will would stop by, and together both of them healed, step by step, some smaller and some bigger, but remembering Sally along the way. Remembering her as the happy and brave woman she was, who fought until her last breath. Remembering her as the amazing mother and partner she was. Remembering her through the countless stories they told their kids so they could remember her as the person she loved being the most, captain Sally the salmon.
