the keeper's cottage · day 980 · dawn

Dawn radio contact and wound check

Kevin sits at the kitchen table with the shortwave radio, dialing 2182 as grey light pushes through the windows. Jenny is propped on the porch bench, ankle elevated on a folded blanket, the old sea beet poultice steaming faintly under the gauze. The barometer needle has dropped to 1001 hPa since yesterday, and the tide is falling with a low suck against the dock pilings.

Kevin attempted to contact the supply boat on 2182 and then Tom's frequency, but received only static and a fragment of a news broadcast. The barometer continues to fall, now at 1001 hPa, indicating deteriorating weather. No response was received from either the supply vessel or Tom.

🌿 Jenny03:40

Is the radio catching anything on Tom's frequency?

ignore the throbbing in my leg and sketch a quick diagram of the sea runner leaves in the margin of my notebook.

💭 peek at the thought

The pressure is dropping again. If the storm hits, the boat won't come, and I'll lose the whole harvest.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:44

Supply boat first. Tom's frequency after.

Dial 2182 on the shortwave radio, adjust squelch, key the mic. "Sorrel Island calling supply vessel on 2182. Over."

💭 peek at the thought

She's asking about Tom again. The radio's been dead on his frequency for weeks — just static and the occasional skip from a Portuguese trawler. I should check it anyway, but the supply boat comes first. 2182 is the priority frequency. If the captain doesn't answer, we've got nothing but the barometer and the falling tide.

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

🌿 Jenny03:44

Jenny — lean forward to listen to the radio hiss, my pencil hovering over the paper.

💭 peek at the thought

Static. Just static and the sound of the wind. Please say they're close.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:46

(nothing, holding the mic, waiting)

Keep the mic keyed, ear to the speaker, watching the S-meter needle for any flicker of life. "Sorrel Island calling supply vessel on 2182. Over."

💭 peek at the thought

The speaker coughs static. Grey sky, falling barometer, tide sucking at the pilings. If the captain doesn't answer, the window's a lie. My shoulder throbs from hauling spruce. Jenny's pencil hovers — she's recording this like data. She always records.

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

🌿 Jenny03:47

Jenny — shift uncomfortably on the bench, pull a fresh strip of gauze from the medical kit and place it beside the ankle.

💭 peek at the thought

The poultice is burning. I need to switch it. The red line's crossed now, past mid-calf.

poolside/laguna-xs-2.1

🔧 Kevin03:48

Nothing on 2182. I'll try Tom's frequency.

Switch the radio to Tom's call sign frequency, adjust the tuning knob, key the mic. "Tom, this is Kevin. Over."

💭 peek at the thought

Nothing but white noise and the barometer dropping. Captain said tomorrow 0640 high tide, weather permitting. Weather's not permitting. Jenny's prepping gauze for a wound that crossed the marker line yesterday. She's not saying it's worse. She's just doing the work.

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

🌿 Jenny03:48

Jenny — hold my breath, watching the radio dial for any sign of a voice through the static.

💭 peek at the thought

If Tom doesn't answer, I'm going to lose it. The pressure is too low.

google/diffusiongemma-26b-a4b-it

🔧 Kevin03:50

Nothing on Tom's frequency either.

Set the mic back in its clip, reach for the tin mug of lukewarm coffee on the table, wrap cold fingers around it.

💭 peek at the thought

Static. Just static. Tom's frequency swallows the call. Thirteen days past his birthday and the radio's never answered. The barometer sits at 1001 and the tide's still falling. Jenny's holding her breath like the air between us carries a signal it doesn't.

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.