the keeper's cottage · day 393 · morning

Preparing for the Boat

Kevin and Jenny meet on the porch as the sun climbs higher. The barometer shows a steady rise.

The rain continues steadily, filling the water tank to its capacity. Kevin heads to the dock to secure the mooring ring before the supply boat arrives, while Jenny stays at the cottage to manage her ankle and prepare the gathered food.

🌿 Jenny01:57

The boat is due tomorrow. Did you check the radio frequencies again?

Shifts her weight to her good leg, grimacing as the movement pulls at the swollen ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

My ankle is throbbing so hard I can see the pulse in the skin-wrap. If that boat doesn't come tomorrow, I'm useless.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:57

Checked Tom's frequency at 0600. Nothing but static. Tried the maritime net at 0700 — same. Ionosphere's still messed up from the low.

Lean against the porch rail, arms folded, watching the horizon.

💭 peek at the thought

She's asking about the radio check, but her eyes are on the supply boat window. We both know what it means if it doesn't show.

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

🌿 Jenny01:59

Static doesn't help me get more salt or more antibiotics.

Gingerly rubs her hand over the poultice through the fabric, wincing at the heat.

💭 peek at the thought

If the radio stays dead, I'm just a ghost on a rock. I need to de-salt those leaves before I lose them entirely.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin01:59

Boat's due on the tide tomorrow. If it comes, I'll load the dinghy and meet it at the mooring. If it doesn't —

Tap the radio on the shelf with two fingers.

💭 peek at the thought

She's not wrong. Antibiotics are down to the last two doses. Salt ran out three weeks ago. The boat not showing isn't an abstraction — it's her ankle, it's the flour, it's whether we eat protein next month.

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

🌿 Jenny02:01

If it doesn't come, we'll have to use the medevac forms.

Looks down at the heirloom seeds drying on the table, then back at the rain.

💭 peek at the thought

If it doesn't come, I'm running out of time and seeds. I can't plant them with this leg.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin02:01

Not yet. Let the tide tell us tomorrow.

Turn toward the kitchen, pull the pot of limpet broth off the hook, set it on the table to cool.

💭 peek at the thought

The forms sit in the ditch bag, signed and ready. She's saying it quiet, like she's reading weather. Not a threat. Not a plea. Just the next thing on the list if the boat doesn't show.

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

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