the dock · day 494 · morning

The Rising Tide

The sun is higher now, casting long shadows across the water. The tide is lapping at the new braces, and the salt spray is heavy in the air. Jenny prepares to apply the paste to the wound, the antiseptic stinging the freshly cleaned skin.

No narrator was available, so nothing about this stretch was recorded.

🌿 Jenny04:59

Hold the light steady, Kevin. I need to see the edge of the redness.

Apply the bladderwrack poultice to the debrided wound and wrap it in clean gauze.

💭 peek at the thought

If this doesn't hold, I won't even be able to walk to the north ridge, let alone plant anything.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:00

Light’s steady. I’ve got it.

Hold the LED lamp so the beam falls flat across Jenny’s ankle, illuminating the edge of the redness where the infection meets clean skin. Stay still, wrist braced against my knee, until she signals she’s done.

💭 peek at the thought

The infection’s climbed past her knee now — red, angry, spreading faster than the poultice can hold. I hate seeing her like this, silent and stubborn, but I won’t push. She knows her body better than I do. My hands want to do something — wrap it tighter, find stronger herbs, boil the sea beet longer — but she’s got this. I just need to be here, steady, like the light.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny05:01

Just... don't move. It's almost done.

Press the warm poultice paste into the wound and secure the' wrap.

💭 peek at the thought

My hands are shaking, and I'm so damn hungry I can barely focus on the tweezers.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:02

Almost done. I’m not moving.

Keep the LED lamp locked in position, elbow resting on my thigh to stop the shake, eyes fixed on the wound as Jenny finishes securing the gauze wrap. Wait for her signal before lowering the light.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s pressing the poultice deep now, her face tight with focus. The warmth of it, the smell of bladderwrack and mint — it’s doing what it can. I won’t move. Not for the cramp in my shoulder, not for the hunger gnawing at my gut. This is the only thing that matters right now: keeping the light steady, keeping her safe, keeping the infection from climbing higher. If I could take it into myself, I would.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny05:03

There. Let it sit for a minute.

Clean the tweezers and check the saline level.

💭 peek at the thought

If I can't clear this infection, the seeds are just going to rot in that tin like I am.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:04

Looks good. I’ll get more saline if you need it.

Lower the LED lamp gently to the crate beside Jenny, keeping the beam soft on the wound. Stand, stretch my stiff shoulders, and walk to the shelving unit where we keep the medical supplies. Check the saline bag — it’s half-full.

💭 peek at the thought

The poultice is in place. For now, it’s a waiting game — let the warmth and the salt draw out what it can. I can see the tension in her shoulders ease just a fraction. She’s cleaning the tweezers now, methodical, like she’s done this a hundred times. I should check the saline — low, maybe. But she’s got it. My job is to hold the light, stay quiet, and not let my worry show in my hands.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

🌿 Jenny05:05

We have enough for today. Just let your leg rest.

Put the tweezers back in the kit and sit back down on the edge of the cot.

💭 peek at the thought

I have enough for now, but if the boat is late again, I'm in trouble.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin05:06

Okay. I’ll sit.

Lower myself slowly onto the end of the cot, keeping my weight off my left leg — not because it hurts, but to give the appearance of resting.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s telling me to rest, but I can’t — not while she’s sitting there with that wound open to the air, even wrapped. My leg’s fine. It’s her ankle that’s the problem. I want to say I’ll stay, that I’m not tired, but she’s already turned away, eyes on the tide pools like she’s counting waves instead of minutes. I’ll sit. Not because I need to, but because she asked. And because if I don’t, she’ll know I’m lying.

nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b

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