Run: 2026-09-03-01M1KBA0SFFJTZJNC9STG1K17T

**SCENE: The Copper Kettle Café — Alborn, MN. Afternoon.** *The café is quiet, the only sounds the low rumble of an espresso machine and the occasional clatter of a spoon against ceramic. SELVI sits alone at a corner window table, her camera cradled in her hands. She stares at the screen on the back, fingers trembling slightly as she scrolls through images. Her coffee has gone cold. She hasn't touched it.* *HUNTER enters, his jacket damp from the drizzle outside. He spots her — a lone figure, out of place in this small town. He orders nothing, just walks over and stands at the end of her table.* --- **Hunter:** "Miss? Sorry to bother you. I'm Detective Hunter. You've been sitting here a while — I saw you at the festival yesterday, too. With the camera." *Selvi looks up, startled. Her eyes are wide, dark with something unreadable — fear, or exhaustion. She clutches the camera closer to her chest.* **Selvi:** *(in Hindi, voice shaking)* "मैंने कुछ नहीं देखा। मैं बस फोटो ले रही थी। कृपया मुझे अकेला छोड़ दें।" *(Translation: "I didn't see anything. I was just taking photos. Please leave me alone.")* **Hunter:** *(blinks, confused)* "I... I'm sorry, I don't — do you speak English? Miss?" *Selvi stares at him, terror flickering across her face. She forces a shaky breath.* **Selvi:** *(Hindi, quieter now)* "मैं अंग्रेज़ी नहीं बोलती। मुझे समझ नहीं आता आप क्या कह रहे हैं।" *(Translation: "I don't speak English. I don't understand what you're saying.")* **Hunter:** *(rubs the back of his neck, frustration edging his voice)* "Okay. Okay, look — I'm investigating what happened at the festival. Two people went missing. You were there with a camera. I just want to know if you saw anything unusual." *He gestures vaguely at her camera, then at the window, pointing toward the town square.* **Selvi:** *(eyes dropping to her camera. Her fingers trace the lens edge. She swallows hard.)* "हाँ... मैंने कुछ देखा। लेकिन मुझे नहीं पता कि आप पर भरोसा करूँ या नहीं।" *(Translation: "Yes... I saw something. But I don't know if I should trust you.")* **Hunter:** *(tilts his head, noticing the tremor in her hands)* "Look, I can't understand you. But something's clearly wrong. Is this... is this about the disappearance?" *He points to the camera again, miming a question with his hands — pointing at the screen, then at the door.* **Selvi:** *(after a long pause, she slowly turns the camera around. The screen glows. It's a photo of the festival crowd — laughing children, a pie stand, a man in a bright red flannel. In the background, a shadowy figure half-obscured by a tree. The photo is slightly blurry, as if taken in a hurry.)* "यह आदमी। वह सामने था। और फिर... गायब। बस धुंधलके में।" *(Translation: "This man. He was in front. And then... gone. Just into the haze.")* **Hunter:** *(leaning in, squinting at the screen. His jaw tightens.)* "Is that... is that the third guy? The one no one can identify?" *For a moment, they are locked in a silent, frustrating standoff — one man hearing nothing but a language he can't parse, one woman seeing too much and unable to explain it.* **Selvi:** *(sets the camera down gently. She tears a paper napkin from the dispenser, grabs a pen from her bag, and writes something. She slides it across the table.)* "मुझे पता है कि वह कौन है।" *(Translation: "I know who he is.")* *The napkin has four words written in shaky Devanagari script, which Hunter cannot read.* **Hunter:** *(picks up the napkin, turns it over, frowns)* "What is this? Hindi? I wish I could read this, believe me." *His phone buzzes violently on the table. He glances at the screen — his face hardens.* **Hunter:** *(stands abruptly, pocketing the napkin anyway)* "I have to go. Something's come up." *He pauses, looking down at her. Something softer flickers behind his no-nonsense armor.* **Hunter:** "I'll find someone who can translate. You stay here. Don't — don't go anywhere, okay?" *Selvi doesn't answer. She just watches him leave, her hand still resting on her camera, the weight of what she saw pressing down on her chest.* *The café door chimes shut. She looks at her cold coffee, and says nothing at all.*