How the Little Red Riding Hoods were saved from the Big Bad Wolf
"Let's get on! What could happen? We are three women and only one man," Mariela said softly, and the three of us saw each other's faces, and immediately, without thinking too much, we got into the blue van.
The man had stopped his vehicle in front of us, who had just left the school and were waiting for the bus to take us home. The man apologised for his behaviour:
"I'm sorry, I don't usually stop, but I thought you were the daughter of a friend of mine. You look just like her". The man stared at me through the rear-view mirror, as I was in the back of the car. The three of us laughed nervously and the man continued talking:
"My name is Mauro and what are your names? Where are you going," he asked amicably. Mariela, who was in the passenger seat, took the floor:
_My name is Mariela, her name is Katiusca and her name is Nancy, he pointed to me and then gave her the address of our houses.
"Nancy, has anyone ever told you that you look like María Conchita Alonso?" the man asked, catching my gaze through the rear-view mirror. María Conchita was a Venezuelan singer who was famous at the time.
"No", I said with a shy voice and a shake of my head.
"I know about faces because I work for a modelling magazine. That's also why I stopped, because all three of them have model looks," the man laughed and showed us his perfect teeth.
"I work for an international magazine with professional models. I can do a photo shoot for them and for that shoot I could pay each one of them in dollars. I am in charge of finding new faces for the magazine and I think you would be the perfect models for a photo session on the beach". -He said without hesitation as he manoeuvred the steering wheel like an expert.
We looked at each other's faces and opened our eyes like little girls in front of thousands of sweets. The car smelled clean, the leather seats were soft, the man's woody fragrance wafted like a thin layer of air from his body. For a strange reason, rather than frightened, the three of us were impressed and intoxicated with contentment.
"We have to ask our parents for permission," I ventured, and my other two friends nodded. Only the man hesitated and began to speak:
"That would be the right thing to do, but they're probably going to say no. I know about such matters. Parents are primarily responsible for their children not fulfilling their dreams. As an adult, I know that we can see monsters where there are none. I know of a girl who had to sign a contract to travel to Spain and her parents did not want her to. She lost the opportunity to be one of the best models in the country".
"I think it would be best if you don't say anything to your parents. I can pick them up at the high school and we can go to the beach for the photo shoot. Don't worry about clothes, food or transportation, I'll plan everything. After we finish the photo shoot, I take them home or drop them off at the school again, just like that".
Maybe it was that ‘as if nothing’, or the Machiavellian tone with which the man showed us the plan, as if he had done it many times, or maybe it was that smile of a hungry and cunning animal that made me say hastily:
"Mariela, remember we must buy bread first. Let's get off at this bakery. Please, sir, you can leave me over here," I said, almost opening the door. The man parked the car and offered to wait for us, but as if we had agreed and an angel had whispered in our ears the danger we were in, we said it wasn't necessary. Then we ran out and heard the man start the vehicle with force and we started laughing like three silly teenage girls who had just done a misdeed.
Afterwards, every now and then, we joked that we had missed the chance to be great models and the chance to see Europe, but surely behind us our guardian angels were sighing with relief that they had done the job of looking after us.
All images are free of charge and the text is my own, translated in Deepl
Thank you for reading and commenting. Until a future reading, friends
Click here to read in spanish
De cómo las caperucitas rojas se salvaron del lobo feroz
La verdad no sé por qué aceptamos el aventón de aquel desconocido. Tal vez porque éramos tres chicas adolescentes impetuosas o porque Mariela era una adolescente muy atrevida y desobediente que siempre intentaba llevar la batuta en todo y no le daba miedo nada:
_¡Vamos a montarnos! ¿Qué puede pasar? Somos tres mujeres y un solo hombre– nos dijo Mariela bajito y las tres nos vimos la cara, e inmediatamente, sin pensarlo mucho, nos montamos en la camioneta azul.
El hombre había detenido su vehículo frente a nosotras, que habíamos salidos del liceo y esperábamos el autobús que nos llevaría a casa. El hombre se excusó por su comportamiento:
_Lo lamento, no suelo detenerme, pero pensé que tú eras la hija de un amigo mío. Eres igualita a ella. –dijo el hombre mirándome fijamente a través del espejo retrovisor, ya que yo estaba en la parte de atrás del auto. Las tres nos reímos de manera nerviosa y el hombre continuó conversando:
_Mi nombre es Mauro y ustedes cómo se llaman. Para dónde van –preguntó amigablemente. Mariela que estaba de copiloto, tomó la palabra:
_Mi nombre es Mariela, ella se llama Katiusca y ella se llama Nancy, me señaló a mí y luego le dio la dirección de nuestras casas.
_Nancy, ¿te han dicho que te pareces a María Conchita Alonso? –me preguntó el hombre atrapando mi mirada a través del espejo retrovisor. María Conchita era una cantante venezolana que era famosa en esa época.
_No –le dije con una voz tímida y con un movimiento de cabeza.
_Yo sé de rostros porque trabajo para una revista de modelos. También por eso me detuve, porque las tres tienen estampa de modelos –el hombre se rio y nos enseñó su dentadura perfecta.
Tal vez la inocencia nos hizo responder con una sonrisa tonta o tal vez sonreímos porque no estábamos acostumbradas a que alguien nos alabara de esa forma. Entonces el hombre aprovechó para tirar la carnada:
_Yo trabajo en una revista internacional con modelos profesionales. Yo puedo hacerles una sesión de fotos y por esa sesión podría pagarle en dólares a cada una. Soy el encargado de buscar nuevos rostros para la revista y creo que ustedes serían las modelos perfectas para una sesión de fotos en la playa. –afirmó sin titubear mientras maniobraba con el volante como todo un experto.
Nosotras nos miramos la cara y abrimos los ojos como unas niñas frente a miles de golosinas. El auto olía a limpio, los asientos de cuero eran mullidos, la fragancia amaderada del hombre sobresalía como una fina capa de aire de su cuerpo. Por un extraño motivo, más que asustadas, las tres nos sentíamos impresionadas y embriagadas de contento.
_Tenemos que pedir permiso a nuestros padres –me arriesgué a decir y mis otras dos amigas asintieron. Solo el hombre dudó y comenzó a hablar:
_Eso sería lo correcto, pero seguramente le van a decir que no. Yo sé de esos asuntos. Los padres son los primeros responsables de que sus hijos no cumplan sus sueños. Yo como adulto sé que podemos ver monstruos donde no los hay. Sé de una chica que tenía que firmar un contrato para viajar a España y los padres no quisieron. Perdió la oportunidad de ser una de las mejores modelos del país.
Aquellas palabras hicieron que guardáramos silencio. La sonrisa, que antes bailaba en nuestra boca, se nos borró como cuando un aire muy fuerte borra unas débiles huellas. El hombre nos miró nuevamente, aprovechó nuestro momento de indecisión y se jugó la última carta:
_Yo creo que lo ideal es que no les digan nada a sus padres. Yo puedo pasar a recogerlas en el liceo e irnos a hacer la sesión de fotos a la playa. Por ropa, comida o transporte no se preocupen, yo planifico todo. Después que terminemos la sesión de fotos, las llevo a su casa o las dejo en el liceo nuevamente, como si nada.
Tal vez fue ese “como si nada”, o el tono maquiavélico con el que el hombre nos mostró el plan, como si lo hubiese hecho muchas veces, o tal vez fue esa sonrisa de animal hambriento y astuto lo que hizo que yo dijera apresuradamente:
_Mariela, recuerda que debemos comprar el pan antes. Bajémonos en esta panadería. Por favor, señor, puede dejarme por aquí –dije casi que abriendo la puerta. El hombre estacionó el carro y se ofreció a esperarnos, pero como si nos hubiésemos puesto de acuerdo y un ángel nos hubiese susurrado al oído el peligro que corríamos, dijimos que no era necesario. Luego salimos corriendo y escuchamos que el hombre arrancó el vehículo con fuerza y comenzamos a reírnos como tres tontas adolescentes que acaban de hacer una fechoría.
Después, cada tanto, hacíamos broma con que habíamos perdido la oportunidad de ser grandes modelos y la ocasión de conocer Europa, pero seguramente detrás de nosotras nuestros ángeles de la guarda suspiraban aliviados por haber hecho el trabajo de cuidarnos.
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Happy and grateful for your support, friends.
I was scared you girls were in danger and I was right. I am glad your guardian angel saved you all from the misfortune that awaited you in the form of a modeling opportunity.
In adolescence we tend to act recklessly. Thank God we reacted in time and the worst did not happen. Thank you for reading and commenting
The girls made the right decision. Most times people try to get you a way from your protectors when they are about to harm you. It would have been the greatest mistake of their life if they had agreed to go with the man without telling their parents. Nice writeup 👍👍👍
There are many wolves in the guise of good people and many traps in the form of job opportunities. Greetings
Exactly..they are countless.. I greet you too 🌹🌹🌹🤗🤗🤗
The girls handled this like pros, especially with that quick bread-buying escape plan. It is always good to trust our instincts, especially when dealing with strangers. Plus, the whole thing seems too good to be true.
Yes, I believe that any disinterested proposal should always be doubted. Thank you for reading and commenting
Hmmm. That was a good bait to catch girls of nowadays. Luckily, you girls were smart enough to know there was danger looming.
It would have been a disaster if you had agreed to go to the beach. Many girls on hearing Beach, would just fall like a pack of cards.
Smartest move ever.
Bread must be a good meal to think about at such an awkward time hehe.
Hahahahahah. I think if I had ever told my parents, they would have punished me. You should never accept a stranger to take you home. Greetings
It was a very dangerous situation, there are people who seek to take advantage of the innocence of others to commit their crimes, fortunately you listened to the voice of reason and escaped the clutches of evil.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us.
Happy day.
This is unfortunately true. There are many bad people who take advantage of innocence. Thank you for your comment and happy day to you too.
But you made the right decision here by which there was a way to escape from there. But they made a big mistake by going with that man.
Undoubtedly: it was a mistake. The worst would have happened if divine luck did not interfere. Greetings
It was a strange, dangerous and extremely uncomfortable situation. The man's lies were too obvious. The good thing is that you were not naïve girls and knew how to get out of that situation with cunning.
Good story, dear friend. As always a pleasure to read you.
Too obvious, but we almost, almost, fall into the trap. Thank God we survived to tell the tale. A hug and thank you, my friend
Such a scary story. This story actually reminded me of one of my experiences that I posted to the Ink Well community as a creative non-fiction. Thanks for a great write-up!
Sadly, I think there are many women who have had to deal with men in wolf's clothing. At least we managed to get out of these traps unscathed and did not fall into them. Greetings
You were very fortunate that the traveling man let you out of the car and did not turn out to be a kidnapper. It does seem you had a guardian angel watching over you!
When I look back, I feel that on many occasions that angel had his turn to do his work. Thank God he has always been there to take care of me. Greetings and thanks
The angels guiding you really did a great job.
Likewise. Thank you for commenting.