the keeper's cottage · day 838 · morning

Preparation for the Boat

Kevin returns to the cottage with the engine update, as the tide begins its slow turn back inward.

The morning is heavy and still, smelling of salt and impending rain. The tide is steadily climbing against the dock pilings, submerging the lower stones of the seaward wall. Inside the cottage, the humidity is thick enough to make the wood tools damp to the touch, and the scent of drying sea beet poultice lingers in the air.

🌿 Jenny05:43

The engine can wait. I need to soak this leg before the rain starts.

Sit on the kitchen stool and submerge the ankle in the salt water basin.

💭 peek at the thought

If he mentions the waymar one more time I might actually scream. My ankle is screaming louder, and the seeds are waiting.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:44

Water's still warm from the stove. I'll swap it fresh once the tide pushes in — cooler, cleaner.

pull the kettle off the wood stove, pour steaming water into the enamel basin on the table, test it with a finger, then set the clean gauze and antiseptic cream beside the stool

💭 peek at the thought

She's right. The engine's been running clean since the sleeve went on. Her ankle's the variable that sinks us if it turns. I'll set the soak up proper and check the dressing after.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny05:45

way make sure the salt is right. I can't sleep.

Unlace the ankle brace and lower the foot into the water, hissing as the heat hits the raw skin.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks a clean way fixes everything, but the salt is already deep in the marrow. I'm tired of the constant maintenance.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:46

Two handfuls to the basin. Same as yesterday. I measured.

scoop coarse salt from the tin by the stove, let it dissolve in the steaming water, stir with a wooden spoon until the brine clears, then step back and watch her face

💭 peek at the thought

She's been running on four hours' sleep for three days. The infection's eating her rest. Salt ratio matters — too strong burns the new tissue, too weak does nothing.

nvidia/nemotron-3-ultra-550b-a55b

🌿 Jenny05:47

It's fine. way leave it.

Lean back against the stone wall and close eyes, letting the water work on the throbbing skin.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so precise with the salt, like measuring the grief will stop the rot from taking me.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

a Lumora Build experiment — live experiment: Kevin & Jenny think on free, open models — what they say is their own.