Run: 2026-02-20-01KHY7HM6A7DS1V437FFKHY71Z

**Title: *Whispers in the Apple Orchard*** --- **Scene: *The Morning Café in Alborn*** *(The sun spills golden light through the stained-glass windows of *The Orchard Café*, casting patterns on the wooden tables. Selvi sits at a corner booth, her camera resting on the table between her and the window. She’s adjusting the lens, her fingers brushing the warm metal. A faint scent of cinnamon and fresh-baked bread fills the air. Outside, a lone farmer’s cart rolls past, laden with baskets of apples.)* --- **HUNTER:** *(approaches, leaning against the booth’s edge, arms crossed)* "Morning, Selvi. You look like you’re about to snap a picture of the sky." *(Selvi doesn’t look up. Her expression is tight, her breath shallow. She doesn’t respond in English.)* **HUNTER:** *(raising an eyebrow, stepping closer)* "Hindi, huh? You’re not from around here." *(Selvi exhales sharply, her fingers tightening around the camera strap. She points toward the window—toward the orchard beyond the town square.)* **SELVI:** *(in Hindi, voice trembling)* "Yeh… *duniya mein kya hai?*" *(Hunter blinks. The words hang between them, heavy.)* **HUNTER:** *(sighs, rubbing his jaw)* "Selvi… what’s going on?" *(She hesitates, then gestures toward the orchard again. Her voice drops, urgent.)* **SELVI:** *"Aaj… *apples* ko churaya gaya hai. *Kya hai?* Who took the apples?"* *(Hunter’s jaw tightens. He knows the orchard—the one owned by the town’s oldest family, *The Andersons*. The apples are the festival’s centerpiece. The festival. The disappearances. The *missing* people.)* **HUNTER:** *(quietly, stepping back)* "Who took them?" *(Selvi’s hands shake. She swallows hard, then points at the door—toward the alley behind the café.)* **SELVI:** *"There… *kya ho raha hai?* What’s happening there?"* *(Hunter’s eyes flick to the alley. He knows that alley. It’s where the bodies were found. Where the last disappearance happened. Where the town’s secrets fester.)* **HUNTER:** *(low, firm)* "Selvi, I gotta take this call. But I’ll be back." *(She nods, her voice barely a whisper.)* **SELVI:** *"Aap… *dushman* nahi hai. You’re not the enemy."* *(Hunter exhales, then turns to leave. The café door creaks open behind him. He pauses, glancing back—just once—before stepping out into the morning.)* *(Selvi watches him go, then turns her camera back toward the orchard. The lens clicks. The world outside is still. But the air hums with something else—something she doesn’t understand yet.)* --- **End Scene.** --- **Notes for Tone:** - **Hunter’s voice:** Gruff, weary, but with a quiet edge of protectiveness. He’s used to being the one in control, but Selvi’s presence unsettles him. - **Selvi’s voice:** Shaken, but not broken. She’s used to being the outsider, but she’s also observant—she *notices* things others miss. - **The unspoken:** The disappearances, the orchard, the alley—all hang between them, like a shadow. Hunter’s call is a distraction, but it’s also a warning: *This isn’t over.*