[SCENE START] [Location: The Rustic Spoon, a small cafe in Alborn, MN. The smell of cinnamon buns hangs in the air.] [Selvi is hunched over her camera on a small table, her fingers trembling. She is staring at the LCD screen with wide eyes. Hunter, a tall man in a tactical windbreaker, slides into the seat opposite her. He doesn't sit back; he leans in, exuding a serious, probing energy.] **Hunter:** Excuse me, miss? You seem… upset. I couldn't help but notice you staring out the window like that. Did you catch a glimpse of the suspect from this morning’s break-in? **Selvi:** (Her breath hitches. She flinches as she looks up. Without thinking, her brain bypasses her lack of English vocabulary, spilling out Hindi.) **Selvi:** "Maine wahan nahi dekha..." (I didn't see there...) **Hunter:** "I said, did you see the man? Or the girl?" **Selvi:** (She realizes her mistake and clamps her mouth shut for a second, panic flashing across her face. She points a shaking finger at the tree line outside the window.) **Selvi:** (Desperately, in Hindi) "Maine apne camera mein gahra raat dekhi. Aur wahan… wo log thi." (I saw deep darkness in my camera. And there… they were.) **Hunter:** (Brows furrowed, confused by the jargon) "They were what? In the shadows? Look, I just need to know if you saw a suspicious car. A blue sedan, maybe?" **Selvi:** (Shaking her head frantically, looking genuinely terrified of him) "Nahi, wo sedans nahi hain. Wo aankhon se chhupi hui hai." (No, they aren't sedans. They are hidden from the eyes.) "Maine photo pakdi hai." (I took the photo.) **Hunter:** (Leans back slightly, unsure how to handle the silence) "Okay. So you took a photo. But of what? The woods? The sky?" **Selvi:** "Maine wo pakdi hai. Photo par... unki cheezein bahut saaf hain." (I caught them. On the photo... their things are very clear.) **Hunter:** (A detective’s instinct kicks in; he leans in again) "A woman? A man? Was there a blue sedan in your photo?" **Selvi:** (Her eyes widen even more, the realization that this foreigner is dangerous if she tells him, or helpless if she doesn't, paralyzes her. She looks from the door to her camera.) **Selvi:** "Yeh log haath lagane wale hain." (These people are hand-picked ones.) "Main abhi jaa rahi hoon." (I am leaving now.) **Hunter:** "You can't just leave! Listen, I'm just trying to help. What was in the photo? A face? A name?" **Selvi:** (She picks up her camera and her bag, slipping out of the booth rapidly.) **Selvi:** "Main aapko nahi samajh sakti." (I cannot understand you.) "Main apni zindagi bachaungi." (I am saving my life.) **Hunter:** (Stunned, he blinks at her retreating form) "What language was that? Indian? No... Hindi? Jesus, I can't believe this." [Her phone buzzes on the table. He grabs it, checking the screen. The playful small-town vibe of the cafe vanishes instantly as his expression hardens.] **Hunter:** (Into the phone) "I'm on my way. Yeah, the girl that just ran out? Yeah, she was holding a camera. Book her." (To Selvi’s empty chair) "Thanks for nothing." [SCENE END]