Run: 2026-10-06-01M48W0S56VE3ZP5AKJBSGB884

**VOICE SHEET: "The Language Barrier"** --- **SCENE:** Interior of *The Apple Core Café*, Alborn, MN. Morning. Rain streaks the windows. MARIA sits alone at a corner table, camera in hand, reviewing photos on its small screen. She wears a faded denim jacket over a mustard sweater, a scarf wrapped loosely around her neck. --- **MARIA:** *(softly, to herself, in Spanish)* Trescientas fotos del festival... y ninguna captura lo que vi. *(Three hundred photos of the festival... and none of them capture what I saw.)* --- *HUNTER enters, rain dripping from his coat. He spots her—the only person with a camera, the only obvious outsider. He approaches, boots squeaking on the linoleum.* --- **HUNTER:** *(clearing his throat)* Excuse me. Mind if I sit? I'm Detective Hunter. I'm looking into some... recent events in town. You wouldn't happen to have seen anything unusual around the apple festival last weekend? --- *MARIA looks up, startled. Her eyes widen. She clutches her camera to her chest.* --- **MARIA:** *(rapid, frightened Spanish)* ¡No! Quiero decir... no sé... ¿Quién es usted? ¿Qué quiere? ¡No hice nada! *(No! I mean... I don't know... Who are you? What do you want? I didn't do anything!)* --- *HUNTER frowns, tilting his head.* --- **HUNTER:** Whoa, easy. I'm not accusing you of anything. I just need to ask some questions. You were at the festival, right? You were taking pictures near the old orchard? --- *MARIA's hands tremble. She pulls her scarf tighter, as if it could shield her.* --- **MARIA:** *(voice cracking)* El hombre... en el huerto. Con la manzana roja. *(The man... in the orchard. With the red apple.)* --- **HUNTER:** *(leaning forward)* A man in the orchard? What did he look like? Was he bothering anyone? --- **MARIA:** *(shaking her head, tears forming)* No lo vi bien. Estaba oscuro. Solo... solo recuerdo sus ojos. Y la manzana. Brillaba como... como sangre bajo la luz. *(I didn't see him well. It was dark. I only remember his eyes. And the apple. It shone like... like blood under the light.)* --- *HUNTER's jaw tightens. He pulls out a notepad.* --- **HUNTER:** Okay. Okay. You saw a man holding a glowing apple? That's... specific. Did he say anything to you? Did anyone else see him? --- **MARIA:** *(whispering)* Me siguió. Después del festival. Pensé que era mi imaginación, pero... *(He followed me. After the festival. I thought it was my imagination, but...)* --- *She stops. Her breath hitches. She looks toward the window, then back at Hunter, terrified.* --- **MARIA:** Hay tres personas desaparecidas, ¿verdad? Lo leí en el periódico del hotel. Tres. Como las manzanas podridas que encontré esta mañana. En la papelera, cerca del huerto. *(There are three people missing, right? I read it in the hotel newspaper. Three. Like the rotten apples I found this morning. In the dumpster, near the orchard.)* --- *HUNTER stares at her, completely lost. He glances at his notepad, then back at her, frustration mounting.* --- **HUNTER:** I'm sorry, I don't—what language is that? You speaking Spanish? I don't speak Spanish. Can you... can you write it down? Or is there someone who can translate? --- *MARIA stares at him, panic rising. She shakes her head violently.* --- **MARIA:** *(desperate)* ¡No entiende! ¡Nadie me entiende! *(You don't understand! No one understands me!)* --- *Her phone BUZZES on the table. HUNTER's radio crackles from his coat pocket. He pulls it out, listens, and his expression hardens.* --- **HUNTER:** *(into radio)* I'm on it. *(to Maria)* Look, I gotta go. This is important—whatever you saw, it matters. *(He stands, then pauses)* Do you have a phone? An email? Some way I can reach you? Because I need to talk to you again, and I need someone who speaks... whatever you're speaking. --- *MARIA looks down at her camera, then at Hunter. She makes a decision. She pulls out a small card from her wallet—her hostel's address, written in neat penmanship—and slides it across the table.* --- **MARIA:** *(quietly, resigned)* Mi nombre es Maria. Vivo en el... *(My name is Maria. I live at the...)* --- **HUNTER:** *(taking the card)* Maria. Got it. *(He starts to leave, then turns back)* Hey. That thing about the rotten apples? Don't go near that orchard again. Whatever you saw out there... it's not something you want to see twice. --- *He exits into the rain. MARIA remains frozen at the table, the card still halfway across the wood, her camera heavy in her lap. She looks at the window, where Hunter's silhouette disappears into the gray Minnesota morning.* --- **MARIA:** *(whispered, to the empty café)* Nadie me cree. Nadie me escucha. *(No one believes me. No one listens to me.)* --- *She opens her camera. Scrolls to a photo she took three nights ago: a shadow between the apple trees. A red gleam in the dark. She zooms in. The image blurs, pixelated, wrong.* *Somewhere, a phone rings. Somewhere, another person vanishes.* --- **END SCENE**