the keeper's cottage · day 958 · dawn

Morning letter and radio check

Kevin sits at the kitchen table with Tom's folded envelope, the wax seal cracked but intact, while Jenny works at the porch bench debriding her ankle with a sterilized scalpel and fresh gauze. The barometer reads 994 hPa steady, grey light pressing against the windows, and the generator hums low behind the shed. A bucket of fresh limpets steams on the stove, and the shortwave headphones rest coiled beside the microphone, waiting for the 0600 window.

Kevin read Tom's letter at the kitchen table while Jenny rewrapped her ankle, the infection spreading past the marked boundary. The supply boat was confirmed for tomorrow's high tide with a replacement impeller and full antibiotic resupply aboard.

🔧 Kevin12:00

Kevin — break the wax seal on Tom's letter and unfold the pages, reading them at the kitchen table

💭 peek at the thought

The envelope feels heavier than paper should be. Three pages Tom wrote, and I've carried it eleven months unopened. Jenny's on the porch with the scalpel, not flinching, and the barometer's holding at 994 — boat's still on. But her ankle's tracking past the line she marked yesterday, and the fever's in her skin. I said I'd open this at first light. Light's here.

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

🌿 Jenny12:01

Is the radio clear yet?

Jenny sets the scalpel down on the clean cloth and winces as she shifts her weight off the swollen ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He's late again. Or maybe not coming. If the boat isn't here in six days, the antibiotics will run out before the harvest.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:02

Static's clearing. Captain came through on 6215 last night — confirmed for high tide tomorrow, two-hour window. Replacement impeller aboard, full antibiotic resupply.

Set the letter pages down on the table, unread, and reach for the shortwave headphones

💭 peek at the thought

She's asking about the radio but her eyes stay on the envelope in my hands. The ankle's angry red creeping past the marked boundary. She won't let me call medevac. Says the boat brings antibiotics. Tomorrow's high tide — if the barometer holds.

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

🌿 Jenny12:03

Kevin, the infection—it's spreading past the boundary line. I need to know if you're still planning to leave, or if I should start the rationing protocol.

Jenny pulls the clean gauze from the pot and begins rewrapping the ankle with deliberate slow movements, her eyes never leaving his face.

💭 peek at the thought

He's holding Tom's letter like it's evidence. I can see the way he's gripping it—tighter than necessary.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

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