Run: 2026-02-25-01KJ95QQT3GSCHPE46M4ZX45X6

The aroma of freshly brewed coffee and cinnamon swirls usually soothed Selvi, but today, the familiar scent of Alborn's Cozy Cuppa did little to settle her nerves. She sat by the window, the late morning sun casting golden rectangles across the worn wooden table. Her Canon DSLR rested in her lap, a silent, comforting weight. She traced the curve of the lens, her mind replaying the unsettling encounter in the woods earlier that week. The unnerving quiet, the fleeting shadow, the sound that had made her breath catch in her throat. She cycled through photos on the display, images of vibrant autumn leaves and mist-shrouded pines, trying to anchor herself in the familiar beauty of the landscape. A shadow fell over her table, sudden and sharp. Selvi looked up, her dark eyes widening to meet the steady, unwavering gaze of a man who looked as out of place in Alborn as a shark in a goldfish bowl. He was tall, with a no-nonsense set to his jaw and eyes that seemed to miss nothing. He wore a dark, practical jacket, and an aura of quiet authority. "Excuse me, miss?" His voice was a low rumble, distinct from the gentle chatter of the cafe. "I'm Detective Miller. I'm investigating that incident out near Miller's Creek a few nights ago. I understand you might have been in the area?" Selvi blinked, her brow furrowing. English. A few words registered – 'detective', 'investigating' – but the rest was a foreign wave washing over her. Her heart gave a nervous thump. Had he seen her? Had she been seen near *that* place? Because she *had* seen something. Something that coiled in her stomach with dread. She shook her head instinctively, then her hand went to her camera. "Mujhe... mujhe samajh nahin aa raha," she began, her voice trembling, the native Hindi tumbling out like a dam breaking. "Ap kya keh rahe hain? Main... main kuch dekh liya tha." Her gaze flickered, her thoughts rushing in Hindi as she tried to convey the terror of the moment. "Van mein... woh jo awaz thi... bahut darawna tha." She fumbled with her camera, her fingers suddenly clumsy. "Andhera tha, aur phir... ek chillaana." She held the camera up, hoping the visual might help. "Meri camera mein maine kuch tasveerein li thi. Shayad un mein kuch ho. Woh... woh darawna tha." Hunter leaned in, his initial professional concern morphing into genuine confusion. He caught a few English loanwords, maybe 'camera' and a hint of 'dark' or 'sound', but the rapid flow of Hindi was an impenetrable wall. He held up a hand, palm facing her, a gesture of pause. "Whoa, slow down. I don't understand Hindi. Do you speak any English?" He glanced around, hoping for a bilingual resident to lend a hand, but Alborn’s morning regulars were locked in their own orbits. Selvi’s eyes welled slightly, a knot of frustration and fear tightening in her throat. She pointed to her camera, then mimed taking a picture, and pointed towards the dense woods that bordered the edge of town, the place where she’d captured the unsettling images. She tried again, more urgently, gesturing with wide, frightened eyes. "Woh... woh theek nahin tha! Kuch galat tha vahan!" Hunter ran a hand over his face, a flicker of exasperation crossing his stern features. He was trained for situations like this, but the language barrier was a formidable obstacle. He understood distress when he saw it, but the content of that distress was lost to him. He pulled out a small notepad and pen, tapping them together. "Okay, okay. Just... *point*. What did you see? What did you hear?" He gestured vaguely towards the woods, then mimed listening. Selvi watched his gestures, her confusion deepening with each attempt to bridge the gap. She shook her head, then pointed insistently at her camera's screen. "Nahin! Bahut dar! Woh jo chhaya thi..." She tapped the screen, her breath catching as she thought of the image. "It was... unnatural." Though she didn't know the English word 'unnatural', the feeling was clear in her tone and expression. "A sound... like nothing I've heard." Just as Hunter was about to try a different tack, perhaps sketching something, his phone buzzed, a sharp, insistent ring cutting through the cafe's ambient noise. He glanced at the screen. His jaw tightened, his detective's focus immediately shifting. "Damn it. I have to go." He looked back at Selvi, a flicker of regret in his eyes. "Listen, I'm sorry. I can't... I don't understand. If you can find someone who speaks English, or if you remember anything else, anything at all..." He scribbled his name and department number quickly on a card, sliding it onto the table's edge. "Detective Miller. Alborn PD. Call me." He gave her a curt nod, a promise of eventual understanding, and then he was gone, leaving Selvi in the quiet cafe, the echoes of her terror still resonating in Hindi, the strange card a stark reminder of the communication chasm between them. *** **Voice Sheet:** **Selvi:** "Mujhe... mujhe samajh nahin aa raha. Ap kya keh rahe hain? Main... main kuch dekh liya tha. Van mein... woh jo awaz thi... bahut darawna tha. Andhera tha, aur phir... ek chillaana. Meri camera mein maine kuch tasveerein li thi. Shayad un mein kuch ho. Woh... woh darawna tha." **Hunter:** "Excuse me, miss? I'm Detective Miller. I'm investigating that incident out near Miller's Creek a few nights ago. I understand you might have been in the area?" **Selvi:** "Woh... woh theek nahin tha! Kuch galat tha vahan!" **Hunter:** "Whoa, slow down. I don't understand Hindi. Do you speak any English?" **Selvi:** "Nahin! Bahut dar! Woh jo chhaya thi..." **Hunter:** "Okay, okay. Just... *point*. What did you see? What did you hear?" **Hunter:** "Damn it. I have to go. Listen, I'm sorry. I can't... I don't understand. If you can find someone who speaks English, or if you remember anything else, anything at all... Detective Miller. Alborn PD. Call me."