48 hours to fall in love

Part 27

Meanwhile, Paula was in the cabin cleaning the floor with a mop, a little scared about her father's reaction and what could happen to him, she prayed that nothing bad would happen to him and that she could get the longed beers without any setback, suddenly someone knocked at the door and Paula's mind went blank, it was her dad, it couldn't be anyone else, how quickly he had returned, but after hearing how many times her father had knocked, two. Paula doubted it was really him. He had never called twice, he always called three times. Then there was a voice that quieted all her doubts:

-Hello.

That wasn't her father's voice, it was a boy, a boy in the middle of the woods? Knocking on her door. That would be the kind of thing he would never expect to happen to him when he was there. He approached the door and answered it, as the boy's voice had engendered a kind of confidence in him.

-Who is it? -said Paula, still a little nervous.

-My name is Peter Suarez, I, I got lost in the forest, and I found your cabin, could you let me in, I'm hungry and tired.

The boy was greatly surprised that there was, a person in the cabin, a living person was inside the cabin. And, after analyzing her situation, he came to the conclusion that she was a captive, a prisoner, and a panic seized him throughout his body, for that meant that her captor could return at any moment and he was not going to like that someone had broken into the privacy and security of the cabin in the woods.

-No, I can't invite you in, I'm inside and from inside you can't open the door, I'm very sorry," said the girl.

-And why are you there?

Paula thought about what to answer him, she could not tell him that her father had kidnapped her, that her own father had been the one who had held her captive for more than twelve years, that was not one of the options.

-I have lived here for a long time now, I love living deep in the forest, far from any contact with people," Paula lied, and her desire to tell him the truth was beating in her chest at a thousand per hour, why hadn't she done it, why hadn't she said that her most fervent wish was to get out of that damned cabin where she had wasted a great part of her life and that those years she had lost there would never come back, no matter how much she wished it.

-And do you live alone? -Peter wanted to know.

-No, I don't live alone, I live with my father, Rodrigo, he is very good and takes good care of me. He always buys the food.

-And where is he?

-He went out, he went to the kingdom for lunch, I'm sure he'll be back soon.

-And your father has you locked up, why can't you go out, is he the one who put these three locks on?

Now he had to tell the truth, the question had been as direct as an arrow, Peter could tell from his voice that he was a good boy and that he would be willing to free her if he had the keys. But no, he could not tell the truth, his father would not like to arrive hungry now and know that his little daughter Paula, whom he had cared for so long and for whom he had watched over for many years, had left, he had seen the first opportunity to escape and had done so, that was not what his father would have wanted, no.

-It's just that... He doesn't like me to go out, that's why he locked me up, to shelter me from the dangers of the kingdom and the outside world in general. He only wants to protect me and wants nothing bad to happen to me, that's why I'm here, you don't have to worry, really, Peter," said Paula, and she imagined through the door Peter's expression when he heard that answer. Surely he had arched his legs, and surely his long hair was falling over his shoulders. It had been a long time since Paula had seen a face other than her father's, and for some reason she imagined people with long brown hair. She couldn't even picture Peter since it had been so long since she had seen a boy that she didn't know what they looked like, she only knew that his voice told her he was a boy, but other than that, nothing else.