Run: 2026-02-16-01KHM5ZQ3PZKCX8NZGVD55BD8C

**Scene: The Bushel Basket Cafe, Alborn, MN** **SELVI:** (Sitting alone at a small wrought-iron table, holding her digital camera. She stares at the display screen, her brow furrowed. She doesn’t notice the approach.) **HUNTER:** (Clears his throat politely) Excuse me, miss? Mind if I ask you a few questions? **SELVI:** (Startled, she looks up. Her eyes are wide, anxious. She clutches her camera to her chest.) **HUNTER:** I’m Detective Hunter. I’m investigating… well, let’s just say I’m looking into some unusual happenings around town. I noticed you taking photographs near the old millpond yesterday afternoon. **SELVI:** (Swallows hard, her voice trembling as she speaks rapidly in Hindi) क्या आप उस आदमी के बारे में बात कर रहे हैं? वह वहाँ अचानक दिखाई दिया, पानी के किनारे खड़ा था... और फिर वह बस... चला गया। मैंने उसकी तस्वीर ली थी। देखिए, यहाँ देखिए। उसके चेहरे पर... वह भाव... मुझे डर लग रहा है। (Translation: Are you talking about that man? He appeared there suddenly, standing by the water's edge... and then he just... left. I took his picture. Look, look here. His face... that expression... I am frightened.) **HUNTER:** (Leans in slightly, his expression one of polite confusion. He holds up a placating hand.) I’m sorry, I don’t… I don’t understand. Do you speak English? It’s about the man by the millpond. **SELVI:** (Shakes her head vigorously, frustration and fear mixing in her eyes. She thrusts the camera’s viewfinder toward him, pointing at the screen.) तस्वीर! देखो! वहाँ! (Translation: Picture! Look! There!) **HUNTER:** (Peers at the camera screen. His professional demeanor hardens, his eyes narrowing at the image. He points to the figure in the photograph.) This man. You saw him? Yesterday? Here? **SELVI:** (Nods emphatically, speaking again in a hushed, urgent tone) हाँ! हाँ! लेकिन वह सामान्य नहीं लग रहा था। उसकी आँखें... वे खाली थीं। और फिर, वह ऐसे गायब हो गया जैसे कोई धुंध उसे ले गई हो। मैं यह सब अपनी आँखों से देख रही थी। (Translation: Yes! Yes! But he did not look normal. His eyes... they were empty. And then, he disappeared as if a mist took him. I saw it all with my own eyes.) **HUNTER:** (Studies her face, trying to read her obvious distress despite the language barrier. He speaks slowly, deliberately.) Disappeared. Gone. You saw him… vanish? **SELVI:** (Sees his attempt to comprehend. She mimes a person standing, then sweeps her hand out in a dissolving motion. She shivers.) गायब। बस। धन्यवाद भगवान् कि मेरी तस्वीर है। (Translation: Vanish. Just. Thank God I have the picture.) **HUNTER:** (Nods, pulling out his notebook. He writes something down, then points to her camera, then to himself.) I need… that picture. For the investigation. Can I…? **SELVI:** (Understands the gesture. She looks protective of her camera for a moment, then her shoulders slump in resignation. She begins to navigate the menu, looking for a way to share the image.) **(The distinct, tinny ringtone of a department-issue cell phone interrupts.)** **HUNTER:** (Holds up a finger – *wait one second* – and answers the phone.) Hunter… What? Where? Alright. I’m on my way. Ten minutes. (He hangs up, his face grim. He looks back at Selvi, frustration etched on his features.) **HUNTER:** I have to go. Right now. It’s urgent. (He points firmly to her camera, then to the cafe around them.) Stay. Here. Do not leave. I will come back. I will find someone who understands. I *will* be back for that picture. Understood? **SELVI:** (Watches him, catching the tone of command. She gives a single, hesitant nod.) मैं इंतज़ार करूँगी। (Translation: I will wait.) **HUNTER:** (Gives her a last, appraising look, then turns and strides quickly out of the cafe, his trench coat billowing slightly behind him.) **(Selvi watches him go, then looks down at the haunting image on her camera screen. She wraps both hands tightly around the device, as if for protection, and waits.)**