Chapter 2: The Man Who Disappeared
I couldn't move.
The forest suddenly felt smaller.
The trees that had protected me for weeks now felt like walls closing around me.
My father stood there like a stranger wearing a familiar face.
Eight years.
Eight years of wondering where he went.
Eight years of asking myself why I wasn't enough for him to stay.
And now he was standing in front of me.
Not at my childhood home.
Not at my school.
Not at a hospital bed where I waited for him after my mother died.
He was standing beside two men who had tried to bury someone alive.
“Dad?”” My voice barely came out.
The word felt strange.
Like something I had forgotten how to say.
Raúl looked away.
That hurt more than anything.
The criminal beside him stepped forward.
“Who is this kid?””
My father answered too quickly.
“Nobody.””
Nobody.
That one word hurt more than eight years of silence.
I laughed quietly.
A broken laugh.
“Right.””
Beatriz looked at me.
Then at Raúl.
She seemed to understand my pain before I even explained it.
The taller criminal grabbed my arm.
“You shouldn't have seen anything tonight.””
I pulled away.
“Don't touch me.””
He smiled.
“You think you have a choice?””
Before he could grab me again, my father spoke.
“Wait.””
Everyone looked at him.
The forest became silent.
The man holding my arm frowned.
“Wait? For what?””
Raúl stared at me.
For the first time that night, I saw something in his eyes.
Not anger.
Not hatred.
Fear.
“Take the woman,” he said.
My heart dropped.
Of course.
I don't know why I expected anything else.
The man nodded.
“Good decision.””
They moved toward Beatriz.
I looked at my father.
The person who was supposed to protect me.
The person who disappeared when I needed him most.
“Why?”” I asked.
He stopped.
“Why did you leave me?””
Nobody spoke.
Even the criminals seemed uncomfortable.
My father looked older than I remembered.
His hair was gray.
His face was tired.
But I didn't care.
I had spent years carrying that question.
“Why did you leave me alone?””
Raúl swallowed.
“Diego…”
“No.””
My voice became louder.
“You don't get to say my name like you know me.””
The words came out before I could stop them.
“I waited for you.””
His face changed.
“I was eleven years old.””
I looked at Beatriz.
At the tied hands.
At the men around us.
“And tonight I find you here.””
The taller criminal stepped closer.
“Enough.””
But Beatriz suddenly spoke.
“Diego.””
Everyone looked at her.
Her voice was weak, but steady.
“Your father wasn't the one who abandoned you.””
I froze.
“What?””
Raúl looked at her.
“Don't.””
Beatriz ignored him.
“He wanted to come back.””
My chest tightened.
The criminal cursed.
“Shut her up.””
But I couldn't look away.
“What are you talking about?””
Beatriz stared at my father.
“Tell him.””
Raúl closed his eyes.
For a moment, he looked defeated.
Then he whispered:
“Your mother didn't die believing I left her.””
The forest went silent.
My mother's name.
The only person who ever loved me without conditions.
“What does that mean?””
Raúl looked at me.
“She knew.””
I felt my heartbeat in my ears.
“Knew what?””
Before he answered, a gunshot echoed somewhere in the distance.
Everyone dropped instinctively.
The criminals turned toward the sound.
Another vehicle was approaching fast.
Not one of theirs.
Someone else was coming.
The taller man grabbed Beatriz.
“We need to leave now.””
Raúl looked toward the road.
Panic crossed his face.
Then he looked back at me.
And said:
“Diego, if they find you here, they'll kill you.””
I stared at him.
“Who are they?””
My father didn't answer.
Instead, he reached into his jacket and threw something toward me.
A small metal key.
I caught it.
“What is this?””
His voice broke.
“The truth about why I disappeared.””
The criminals dragged Beatriz toward the van.
Raúl stepped between them and me.
And for one second, I saw the father I remembered.
The man who carried me on his shoulders.
The man who cooked breakfast before work.
The man who promised he would always protect me.
Then he said something I never expected.
“Find the old house where your mother kept her things.””
He looked directly into my eyes.
“Before Mauricio finds it first.””
The van engine started.
The criminals pulled Beatriz inside.
And as the vehicle disappeared into the darkness, I looked down at the key in my hand.
A small engraving was carved into the metal.
One word.
Lucía.
My mother's name.
And behind me, somewhere in the forest, I heard a phone ringing.
Not my phone.
Someone else's.
May you like
A phone hidden inside the trees.
A phone that had been waiting for me to find it.
