**Voice Sheet – Café Encounter in Alborn, MN** *(Scene: A quiet morning at the Maple Hollow Café in Alborn, MN. Melanie sits by the window, reviewing photos on her camera. She frowns, zooming in on a blurry figure in the edge of one landscape shot. Hunter enters, scanning the room. He approaches Melanie, badge clipped to his belt.)* **Hunter:** Ma’am? Sorry to bother you. I’m Detective Hunter. We’ve had some… unusual activity around town lately. You’ve been staying here a few days, right? Saw you taking pictures near the old orchard trail yesterday. **Melanie:** *(Looks up startled, lowers camera)* Was? Wer sind Sie? Ich verstehe nicht—haben Sie mich gerade was auf Englisch gefragt? Ich spreche nur Deutsch! **Hunter:** *(Frowns, leans in slightly)* Uh… sorry. I don’t… understand German. I need to ask you about anyone suspicious you might’ve seen—especially near the woods past Miller Road. People have gone missing. **Melanie:** *(Shakes head rapidly, voice trembling)* Ich habe niemanden gesehen… Also, nicht wirklich. Aber—da war etwas. Auf meinem Foto. Gestern Abend. Ein Schatten… zwischen den Bäumen. Wie eine Person, aber… falsch. Ich dachte erst, es sei ein Tier. Aber nein. Ich habe es vergrößert—sehen Sie? *(She turns the camera toward him, hands shaking. Hunter squints at the image, sees only a smudged blur in the tree line.)* **Hunter:** *(Skeptical, but trying to remain open)* You’re saying… this *blur*… is a person? Ma’am, this could be anything. A stump, a deer. I need something more solid. **Melanie:** *(Frustrated, gestures to the photo, then to the woods outside)* Es war kein Tier! Ich bin Fotografin—ich kenne Unterschiede! Und… und ich habe ein Geräusch gehört. Wie ein Flüstern. Aber keine Worte. Nur… Kälte. Ich habe Angst. Etwas stimmt nicht mit diesem Ort. **Hunter:** *(Trying to piece it together, voice softening slightly)* You… scared? You’re scared? Okay. Okay, I get that. But I need names. Times. Did you see a car? A license plate? Anything real? **Melanie:** *(Shakes her head, near tears)* Nein. Nur das Bild. Und das Gefühl… wie wenn jemand meinen Namen flüstert, aber ich höre es nur im Kopf. Ich bin nicht verrückt! **Hunter:** *(Sighs, touches his temple—weighing her fear against lack of evidence)* I… I believe you’re afraid. That’s real. But I can’t act on a feeling and a blurry photo, even if… *(trails off, studying her face)* …you really believe it. *(His phone rings sharply. He pulls it out.)* **Hunter:** *(into phone)* Hunter. ...What? Where? The mill bridge? Alright, I’m on my way. *(He pockets the phone, gives Melanie a firm but apologetic look.)* **Hunter:** I gotta go. Another report came in—sighting near the old mill. I’ll… keep your info. And that photo. Send it to someone who can enhance it, maybe. **Melanie:** *(Urgent, grabbing his sleeve briefly)* Bitte… passen Sie auf sich auf. Gehen Sie nicht allein dorthin. **Hunter:** *(Pauses, surprised by her intensity)* ...I’ll be careful. Thanks. *(He exits quickly. Melanie stares after him, then flips through her camera again. She stops on another image—this one shows a faint, elongated shadow standing behind her near the tree line. She gasps, and the screen fades to black.)*