Run: 2026-06-01-01KT1G87YBF2CQGA5CAJFP73T1

# The Café on Main Street — Alborn, MN The afternoon light slants through the window of the Honeycrisp Café, catching the dust motes drifting above Maria's untouched coffee. She scrolls back through the photos on her camera, face drawn, the spoon in her hand still. The bell above the door jingles. Hunter steps in, scanning the room the way he always does—exits first, then faces. He spots her, notes the camera, and makes his approach. --- **Maria:** *(startled, looking up from her camera)* "...Lo siento. I— I don't understand. No hablo inglés." **Hunter:** "Ma'am. I'm Detective Hunter, Alborn Police Department. I just need to ask you a couple of questions about the other night. Shouldn't take long." **Maria:** *(chest tightening, fingers curling tight around the camera strap)* "Yo no... I don't know what you— *lo siento*, no hablo inglés." **Hunter:** "You're the photography student, right? From the university exchange program? Word is you were out near the old Henderson property before dawn a few days ago." **Maria:** *(eyes widening, breath catching)* "...Sí. Yes. The— the photos, I— *no sé cómo decir...*" *(swallows hard, voice dropping to a near-whisper)* "Había alguien allí. Una figura. Grande. Y entonces... se fue. Como si nada. *Se desvaneció.*" **Hunter:** "Ma'am, I need you to slow down. I really wish I could— look, do you have someone you can call? A roommate, a professor, anybody who speaks— *English*? Anybody?" **Maria:** *(shaking her head, voice cracking)* "Por favor. Please, I— *necesito ayuda.* I saw something. I *know* what I saw. In the woods, behind the orchard, there was a— a *shape*. And then it was just... gone. Nothing. Like the trees had swallowed it whole." **Hunter:** "Alright. Alright, look at me— I don't know what you're saying, but I can see you're shook up. I'm gonna— I'm gonna get someone in here who speaks Spanish, okay? Just stay put. Stay right at this table. Can you do that for me?" **Maria:** *(nodding quickly, grasping at his sleeve before he can move away)* "Espere— *wait*— por favor. *Por favor, no se vaya.* I don't know who else to tell. The others, the missing— I think I— *creo que lo vi.*" **Hunter:** "I— yeah. Okay. I hear you." *(his phone buzzes sharply in his pocket; he pulls it out, glances at the screen, and his jaw tightens)* "...I have to take this. Stay here. *Don't* leave this café. You understand? *¿Comprende?*" **Maria:** *(nodding, small and frightened)* "Sí. *Sí, comprendo.*" **Hunter:** *(stepping toward the door, phone pressed to his ear)* "Hunter here. ...Yeah, I'm five minutes out. ...The old Ahlgren place? ...On my way." *(he pauses at the threshold, glancing back at Maria one more time)* "I'll be back for you, alright? We'll figure this out. I promise." **Maria:** *(alone now, pulling the camera close to her chest, whispering to no one)* "*Dios mío... ¿qué está pasando en este pueblo?*" --- *The bell jingles again as the door swings shut behind him. The café hums on, ordinary and warm, while Maria stares at the screen of her camera—at the shape in the trees, half-caught in the grey light of an Alborn dawn.*