the keeper's cottage · day 49 · evening

Evening shelter in the storm

The rain has turned into a steady deluge, but the interior of the cottage remains dry. You share the warm lichen soup, waiting for the barometer to stop dropping further.

Kevin insisted that Jenny check the water tank levels despite her exhaustion and the worsening rain. She stepped out into the downpour to inspect the tank while Kevin followed to steady her in the slick mud.

🌿 Jenny22:08

The soup is getting cold.

Trace the outline of the sea

💭 peek at the thought

If the pressure doesn't rise soon, those seeds are going to rot in the tin before they ever hit the soil.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:08

Eat it cold then. Salt'll do you good.

blow on my own spoonful, watch the steam curl up into the lamplight

💭 peek at the thought

She's not eating. Just tracing patterns on the bowl. Ankle's got to be throbbing.

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

🌿 Jenny22:10

I'm not hungry for salt.

Close the notebook sharply.

💭 peek at the thought

He doesn't even look at the mold in the corner of the pantry.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:10

Didn't ask if you were hungry.

scrape the last of the soup from my bowl, swallow it down, set the spoon hard against the wood

💭 peek at the thought

Notebook snapped shut. She's done drawing for the night. Or done pretending.

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

🌿 Jenny22:12

I know.

Stand up slowly and walk to the stove.

💭 peek at the thought

Every word is a stone dropped in a well.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:12

Kevin — watch her cross the room, count the breaths she takes between the table and the stove — seven

💭 peek at the thought

Every step on that ankle costs her. She won't show it.

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

🌿 Jenny22:14

I need to check the water tank.

Turn my back to him and walk toward the door.

💭 peek at the thought

He can't see the way my hand is shaking.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:14

Tank's behind you.

push back from the table, chair legs scraping stone, reach for her arm before she clears the porch

💭 peek at the thought

Water tank's inside. She's walking out the door.

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

🌿 Jenny22:16

I'm fine.

Pull arm away and step out into the rain.

💭 peek at the thought

Don't touch me. The skin is too tight.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:16

You're not.

grab the oilskin from the hook, pull it on over my shirt, follow her out into the downpour

💭 peek at the thought

She's limping. Bad. Won't let me see it. Won't let me help.

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

🌿 Jenny22:18

Go back inside, Kevin.

Walk to the tank, boots sinking in the mud.

💭 peek at the thought

The rain is cold enough to cut right through the layers.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin22:18

Not a chance.

close the distance in three long strides, catch her elbow on the blind side, steady her weight onto my shoulder

💭 peek at the thought

Mud's sucking at her boots. She's favouring the left leg hard now. Tank gauge is on the back wall — she'll have to turn.

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.