the old shrine · day 524 · night

Evening at the shrine

They are at the old shrine, the place where they have been working through the afternoon. Kevin has just finished securing the roof patch and is wiping his hands on a rag. Jenny is seated on the stone step, her sketchbook closed, her ankle wrapped in a clean cloth. The wind continues from the southeast, spraying salt mist over the ridge, and the tide keeps rising toward the lower shrine stones.

The tide has reached the lower stones of the shrine, submerging the oldest carvings as the night progressed. Jenny watches the water lap over the 'LB' inscription, feeling the grit of salt and stone beneath her while Kevin has retreated to the cottage to prepare hot salt water for her ankle, leaving her to monitor the rising waterline in silence.

🔧 Kevin12:00

Tide’s up to the second stone now. If it keeps rising, we’ll lose the lower names by dawn.

stand up, brush off my knees, and walk to the edge of the shrine to watch the water lap at the stones.

💭 peek at the thought

The salt’s getting into everything — her bandages, my hands, the radio static. I fixed the insulator, patched the roof, but the tide’s creeping up the shrine stones. She hasn’t said a word since we sat down. I keep thinking if I just work hard enough, she’ll see I’m still here. But silence isn’t loyalty. It’s just avoidance.

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

🌿 Jenny12:01

Let it take them. The island is already reclaiming them.

Reach out and trace the worn carving of 'LB' on the dry stone, feeling the rough grit under my fingertip.

💭 peek at the thought

The tide is coming in fast today. If it reaches those carvings, the salt will eat the names before the boat arrives.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:01

They’ve lasted two hundred years. Another night won’t kill them.

crouch beside the lowest stone, where the water is licking the base, and run my thumb over the faint groove of a name I can’t read anymore.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s not talking about the stones. She’s talking about us. About me. The way I keep patching things that don’t hold.

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

🌿 Jenny12:03

It’s not just the water. It’s the constant friction.

Stand up slowly, shifting my weight to my good leg to hide the sharp throbbing in my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He’s too optimistic about the stone. The salt is patient, unlike us.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:03

You shouldn’t be on it. Let me wrap it again — warm salt soak first, like it helps.

reach for the clean cloth in my pocket, but stop short, hands hovering — not touching her, not pushing. Wait for her to say yes or no.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s standing on that ankle like it’s nothing. I saw her wince when she put weight on it. She won’t let me see how bad it is. Just like she won’t let me see how bad this silence is.

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

🌿 Jenny12:05

Just the soak. I need to see if the red lines stopped moving.

Lean back against the way stone and extend my swollen own out toward him.

💭 peek at the thought

The heat is still there, pulsing under the skin. I don't want him to see it again.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:05

Okay. I’ll get the water hot. Just the soak.

turn and walk quickly down the ridge toward the cottage, not running, but fast — knees bent against the wind, eyes on the path, not looking back until I’m past the bend where the shrine drops out of sight.

💭 peek at the thought

She’s asking me to look. Really look. Not fix, not talk — just see. The red streaks. The truth of it. I’ve been avoiding this as hard as the tide’s avoiding the shrine.

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

🌿 Jenny12:08

You don't need to wor— Keep an eye on the lower stones. I'll check the water temperature.

Cut off the words, watching the water rise another inch where his fingers had been, and pull out my notebook to check the tide markers I'd sketched there yesterday. </think>THOUGHT: He means well, but I can hear the water rising faster than

💭 peek at the thought

He means well. But the infection's already past caring for good intentions.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

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