the old shrine · day 555 · evening

Evening at the shrine

Kevin and Jenny walk the ridge path together as light fails, the wind steady from the south. The standing stones are dark against the sky. The carved stone marked 'E' and the softwood scrap inscribed 'I'm still here' sit among them. A tin mug rests at the base of the 'E' stone. They carry no lantern yet — the afterglow is enough to see the path.

The air is heavy and still, the dry heat of the afternoon pressing against the ridge. At the shrine, the tide has begun its ascent, licking at the base of the lower carved stones. Jenny shivers in Kevin's oversized jacket, her fingers tracing the weathered 'E' as she watches the water shift against the shoreline.

🌿 Jenny19:54

It's getting colder.

Lean heavily on Kevin's shoulder as we reach the stone ring.

💭 peek at the thought

The barometer is lying, but the air isn't. I need to see those stones before the light completely gives out.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:54

Take my jacket.

Shrug out of my oilskin jacket and settle it over her shoulders, pulling the collar up against the wind.

💭 peek at the thought

She's cold and the wind's biting through her layers. My jacket's warmer than the air between us.

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

🌿 Jenny19:56

I'm fine, just a bit cold.

Wrap the jacket around myself and touch the weathered surface of the 'E' stone.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always so practical when I'm falling apart. The jacket smells like him and salt.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:56

You're shivering.

Step closer so my shoulder blocks the wind off her, hand resting on the cold stone beside her fingers.

💭 peek at the thought

She's not fine. The fever broke but the infection's still tracking. She's burning calories she doesn't have just staying upright.

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

🌿 Jenny19:58

It's just the wind.

Trace the worn carving of the 'E' with my thumb, ignoring the pulse in my ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He's right. I'm a terrible liar. The infection is making me weak.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin19:58

The mug's still warm.

Crouch beside the stone, fingers brushing the tin mug's rim — heat still radiating from the ceramic, tea dregs dark in the bottom.

💭 peek at the thought

She's counting pulse beats in her ankle. I've watched her do it three times since the shrine came into view. The 'E' stone — she found it here years ago, before me. Never said what it meant.

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

🌿 Jenny20:00

I just left it.

Reach for the mug, letting the warmth seep into my numb fingers.

💭 peek at the thought

If the tea is still warm, I haven't been gone that long. I keep losing track of the time.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin20:00

You came up here this morning.

Stay crouched, watching steam curl from the mug, the 'E' stone and the softwood scrap side by side in the failing light.

💭 peek at the thought

She left it. Came back. The tea's still warm enough to steam in this wind — means she was here recently. Before the storm prep. Before the dock.

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.