Run: 2026-03-11-01KKFD5FKZCAS3T7490F94V7P0

**Isabella:** *(tapping through photos on her camera, mumbling to herself)* "Questi alberi sono bellissimi... ma cos'è quella figura tra le foglie? Sembrava una persona..." **Hunter:** *(approaching the table, pulling out a chair)* "Excuse me — mind if I sit? I'm Detective Hunter. I couldn't help but notice you've been out with that camera pretty much every day since you arrived." **Isabella:** *(looking up, startled, clutching her camera to her chest)* "Oh! Buongiorno, signore. Mi scusi, non... non parlo inglese. Non capisco." **Hunter:** *(blinking, leaning back slightly)* "I'm... sorry? You don't — okay. English? Any English at all?" **Isabella:** *(shaking her head rapidly, eyes wide)* "No, no inglese. Italiano. Sono italiana. Capite italiano?" *(gesturing between them hopefully)* **Hunter:** *(rubbing the back of his neck)* "Italian. Right. Uh... *pizza?*" *(winces at his own attempt)* "Look, I don't — I don't speak Italian. Not a word. I'm sorry." **Isabella:** *(sighing, then brightening slightly, turning her camera around to show him a photo)* "Guardi. Guardi questa foto. Albero — uh — *tree.*" *(points to the screen, then traces something in the shadows of the image)* "Qui. Qui qualcosa non va. Una persona — *person* — nella foresta. Ieri sera. Ero spaventata." **Hunter:** *(leaning in, squinting at the photo, his expression shifting from confusion to sharp focus)* "Wait — is that a figure? In the tree line there? That looks like... yeah, that's a person." **Isabella:** *(nodding vigorously, speaking quickly in Italian)* "Sì! Sì! Proprio lì! Ho sentito dei rumori strani — dei passi — e ho scattato questa foto senza pensarci. Quando ho guardato meglio stamattina... signore, ho avuto paura. È legato alle persone scomparse, vero? Lo sento nel mio stomaco." **Hunter:** *(pulling out a small notebook, scribbling something down, then stopping with a frustrated exhale)* "I really wish I could understand you right now. You seem... upset. Scared, even. And you keep pointing at that photo." *(picks up a sugar packet, holds it up)* "This — is this about *this*? The photo?" **Isabella:** *(pointing to her eyes, then pointing at the photo, then crossing her arms over herself in a hugging motion, trying to convey fear)* "Sì, la foto! Paura! Pericolo! Qualcuno scomparso — *gone.* La persona nella foto — *this person* — c'è ancora, signore. Forse." **Hunter:** *(eyes narrowing, staring at the photo again)* "You saw someone disappear? Or... the person in the photo disappeared?" *(pauses, studying her face)* "You're shaking." **Isabella:** *(nodding, her voice dropping to a whisper)* "Tre persone. Tre persone scomparse a Alborn. Lo so. Lo leggo sui giornali — *newspapers* — e poi ieri sera, questa figura... il mio sangue si è gelato. Gelato come ghiaccio." **Hunter:** *(leaning forward, speaking slowly despite knowing she can't understand)* "I'm investigating those disappearances. Three people. Gone without a trace. And you're telling me you *saw* something out there last night?" **Isabella:** *(glancing around the café nervously, then back at Hunter)* "Signore, non so come dirvi questo in inglese. Ma... ma questa città non è sicura. Sento che qualcosa non va ovunque vada. La foresta, le strade vuote, le facce delle persone..." **Hunter:** *(opening his mouth to respond — when his phone rings sharply. He holds up a finger.)* "One second. Sorry — I have to take this." *(He answers the phone, his face shifting instantly into detective mode.)* **Hunter:** *(into the phone)* "Hunter. ...Yeah. ...What do you mean, *another one*? ...Where? ...I'm on my way. Five minutes." *(He hangs up, already standing, and turns to Isabella with an apologetic but urgent expression.)* **Hunter:** "I have to go. I'm sorry — I need to come back and talk to you properly. Do you understand? I need — *(he points at the camera, then at himself)* — your photo. Important. *Importantissimo.*" *(He winces at the Italian but hopes she gets it.)* **Isabella:** *(standing too, holding out the camera protectively at first, then hesitating — reading the urgency in his eyes. She slowly nods.)* "Sì. Sì, capisco. Tornate. Tornate, per favore. Vi sarò qui." **Hunter:** *(grabbing his coat off the chair, pausing just long enough to hand her a business card with a scribbled note on the back — a rough sketch of a clock and a question mark)* "Tomorrow. Same time. I'll bring someone who speaks your language. Don't go into those woods alone. Understood?" **Isabella:** *(taking the card, reading his rough sketch, and nodding solemnly)* "Non andrò nella foresta. Vi prometto." *(She clutches the card to her chest.)* "Arrivederci, signore." **Hunter:** *(already halfway to the door, looking back over his shoulder with one last lingering look at the photo on her camera screen)* "Yeah. See you tomorrow, ma'am." *(He pushes through the café door and disappears into the gray Minnesota afternoon. Isabella watches him go, then looks down at the photo once more — the shadowy figure between the trees — and whispers to herself.)* **Isabella:** "Troppo tardi... forse è già troppo tardi."