the old shrine · day 925 · evening

Evening meal and planning

The sun is setting as the tide begins to turn in. Kevin and Jenny meet at the cottage to prepare the evening meal.

The heavy humidity hangs over the shrine like a wet blanket, making the 29°C heat feel stifling. Kevin and Jenny sit near the stone carvings, the sound of the cicadas the only break in the still air. The tide is slowly rising, licking at the lower rocks of the island as silt shifts beneath the clay of the ridge.

🔧 Kevin09:56

Corned beef and limpets sound all right? Got the pot from this morning still.

walk to the cottage porch and set the cast iron skillet on the stove, striking a match to light the burner

💭 peek at the thought

The light's going fast. Need to get the stove lit and something hot in us before the damp settles in the bones. Ankle's been quiet the last few hours — good sign, or she's just not saying. Either way, food first.

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

🌿 Jenny09:59

That's... fine. Just need to check the pot first.

Rise slowly from the garden wall shade, wincing as the ankle twists in its brace, then walk to the cottage kitchen to inspect the corned beef tin.

💭 peek at the thought

The infection's red streaking up my calf through the poultice, and Kevin's hands don't shake like mine do. He's already moving toward the stove, confident he can fix what's broken while I struggle to survive what's alive inside me.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin09:59

Want me to look at the strap when you're done?

pull the half-used tin of corned beef from the shelf and set it beside the skillet, then fetch the bucket of limpets from the porch floor

💭 peek at the thought

She's favouring it worse than this morning. The brace isn't holding the joint right — or the swelling's changed the fit. Should've adjusted it at lunch but the tide had other ideas.

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

🌿 Jenny10:01

The medical kit strap. The corned beef's fine.

Set the skillet back down, then move to the medicine cabinet to retrieve the torn bandage strap while Kevin arranges the limpets.

💭 peek at the thought

The strap on the medical kit, or the corned beef tin? His voice doesn't reach the space between us anymore.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin10:01

Sail twine'll hold better than thread. Be two minutes.

wipe hands on trousers, then pull the small drawer under the stove shelf and dig out the spool of sail twine and a curved needle

💭 peek at the thought

Medical kit strap. Right. The one that holds the gauze roll in place. She's been re-wrapping that ankle four-hourly for weeks — elastic's shot. I can stitch it, or there's that bit of sail twine in the drawer. Stronger than cloth.

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

🌿 Jenny10:03

Just don't make it too tight.

Lean against the kitchen counter, watching the throb in my ankle as I try to ignore the weight of my body.

💭 peek at the thought

He's always looking for a structural fix, as if a bit of twine can stop the island from eating through my skin.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:03

Won't. Just enough to hold the roll.

thread the needle with sail twine, double it, and sit on the stool beside her raised foot to stitch the torn strap on the medical kit bandage

💭 peek at the thought

She's white at the lips. The ankle's not the only thing throbbing. Fever's still sitting in her, low and stubborn. Trimethoprim's not the right drug for lymphangitis but it's what we had. Two doses down, twelve to go. If the streaks don't stop by morning...

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

🌿 Jenny10:05

Thanks.

Watch his hands work for a moment, then reach for the half-eaten tin of corned beef to start prepping the limpets.

💭 peek at the thought

He's so focused on the mechanics. He doesn't see the way the skin is reacting to the heat. Everything is a repair to him, always.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:05

Limpets need three minutes in boiling water. No more.

tie off the last stitch, snip the twine with teeth, and set the repaired bandage on the counter before turning to the stove to bring the pot of water to a boil

💭 peek at the thought

Good hands on her. The needle drives clean through the canvas strap, twine pulling tight without bunching. She's peeling limpets one-handed, shell grit under her nails. Normal things. The kind that matter.

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

🌿 Jenny10:07

I'll watch the pot.

Pick up a limet from the bucket and start cleaning the grit from the shell while waiting for the water to bubble.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin10:07

Radio check at dusk. Captain said he'd raise us on 2182 if the window holds.

spoon the cleaned limpets into the boiling water, set a timer by feel, and lean back against the counter to watch the steam rise

💭 peek at the thought

She's quiet. Not the tired quiet — the thinking quiet. The barometer's held steady all day. Supply boat's nine days out. The north piling's rot line is mapped. The Yanmar's impeller is waiting in a cardboard box on the supply boat manifest. Everything that can be ready is ready. Except her ankle. Except Tom's birthday. Except the letter folded on the kitchen table.

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

🌿 Jenny10:09

I hope the signal is clear tonight.

Watch the limpets curl in the water, feeling the pulse in my ankle sync with the bubble.

💭 peek at the thought

If the boat doesn't come, I'll have to start planting the seeds. I can't wait forever.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

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