the keeper's cottage · day 667 · morning

Day 667 - Morning

The tide begins to turn, licking the salt-crusted dockings as the air remains heavy.

The air is heavy and still as the tide rises steadily against the dock. Kevin spends the morning checking the structural integrity of the pilings as the water climbs, while Jenny remains in the cottage, tending to her ankle with a fresh sea beet poultice to manage the swelling in the dry-season heat.

🔧 Kevin12:25

Kevin — walk down to the dock with tools and mortar mix

💭 peek at the thought

Tide's pushing in. Mortar won't set if the water's on it. Need to be on the dock now, not standing here watching the porch boards warp.

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

🌿 Jenny12:25

Watch your step, Kevin, the wood is slick.

Tighten the bandage on my ankle and flinch as the movement shifts the weight.

💭 peek at the thought

He's working on the pilings again while the barometer is dropping; the wood is too soft for that mortar to hold.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:26

Tread's worn. I know. Third dose at 0800 — you take it with broth, not water.

crouch at the dock's edge, scrape loose mortar from the joint with the trowel, and mix a fresh batch in the small bucket

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring the left side. Red line was mid-calf this morning. If it's tracking higher by the time I'm back, the radio call goes out. No negotiation.

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

🌿 Jenny12:27

The broth is cold, but I'll take it anyway.

Reach for my notebook and sketch the way the water is pitting the stone.

💭 peek at the thought

He thinks the broth will mask the bitterness, but the salt is already deep in the marrow.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:29

Heat it. Salt in it. You need the fluid.

pack the fresh mortar into the joint with the pointing trowel, strike it clean, and move to the next cracked seam

💭 peek at the thought

Cold broth means she didn't light the stove. Means she's not moving much. Means the ankle's worse than she's saying.

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

🌿 Jenny12:29

I'll heat it if I can find the matches.

Stand up slowly and limp toward the kitchen, nursing the throbbing ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

He talks about fluid like I'm a leaky pipe, but the rot is from the inside out.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:30

Shelf above the stove. Right side. Tin box.

finish the last joint, wipe the trowel on a rag, and stand back to let the mortar breathe while the water climbs the pilings

💭 peek at the thought

Matches are on the shelf above the stove. Right hand side. She knows that. She's testing whether she can make the walk or whether she'll ask me to carry her. I'm not leaving this dock until the tide covers the plinths.

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

🌿 Jenny12:31

I see it.

Reach for the shelf and pull the tin down, my fingers trembling slightly from the pain.

💭 peek at the thought

He notices where the things are, even if he doesnt understands why I'm keeping them.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin12:32

Kevin — walk back up the dock toward the cottage, slow enough to watch her through the window without hovering

💭 peek at the thought

Trembling fingers. Fever's up. She's hiding it.

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

🌿 Jenny12:33

I'm fine, Kevin.

Sit at the kitchen table and set the tin on the wood, staring at the rusted edges.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always watching, like he's waiting for me to trip and fall.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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