Real Travel Stories LENGO

Maria is excited to leave for Mexico for two months. She boards a plane with Julia and expresses her excitement to return to Mexico, even if it’s just for a month or two. As the girls arrive at a party in Mexico, they discuss going home early out of homesickness. Maria says she feels like someone is watching her, but Julia says she’s paranoid and that everything will be better after a fun night at a party with family. Maria and Julia talk about the party and how much they missed their extended family. Julia says she wants to get ice cream, and Maria agrees. They drive a couple of minutes away from the party for a snack, then return home.

Maria and Julia arrive home to find an expensive luxury SUV in the driveway, blocking their entry. A bald man approaches the vehicle with a gun drawn and demands Julia and Maria get into the car. Maria whispers to Julia to get in the back seat and stay quiet. Maria is most concerned for Julia, but Julia is the one trying to keep Maria calm.

The man explains that he will sell them in Colombia. The two begin to discuss in hushed tones. Maria tries to use her phone to call for help, but she has no service. Julia starts crying and argues loudly with the kidnapper, and Maria opens the door quickly, grabbing on to Julia and rolling out.

Maria and Julia land on the side of a road. They are both hurt with pretty minor injuries, and Julia may have a broken ankle. Maria and Julia begin to run the opposite way along the road, calling out to cars that pass them. They almost give up when the semi-truck stops to pick them up and ushers them inside.

The truck driver asks the girls what happened and offers them blankets and food. The girls refuse and ask him to drive as far away as he can. He agrees, and they drive down a less busy road to throw the kidnapper off the trail. Before they get far, the truck sputters and dies, out of gas. The man apologizes and says he was on his way to get more gas but forgot about it when he picked up Maria and Julia. They need to keep moving, so they take a coat, thank him, and ask to leave.

The girls run to the fields and towards another city. They know it is just a mile or two away, but the cornfields seem to go on forever, and they’re paranoid. They eventually get to a different city and a busy road. Again, they try to flag someone over, but the roads are empty/they can’t find anyone to stop for them. They walk to a parking lot where they check for unlocked cars, as it is growing cold and they are tired/need to hide. They find an unlocked truck with blankets and supplies, and Maria attempts to tend to their wounds with a first aid kit they find in the truck. The two wait for sunrise so they can continue on their way. Julia falls asleep, but Maria is alert the entire time, fearing the kidnapper finds them.

Maria wakes Julia at dawn, and they leave the truck. They go to a bus station, where they try to return home to their aunt’s town. Once they reach the town, they take a taxi home. On the way home, the girls don’t express how grateful they were for the truck driver and how both of them can’t remember his name. The two of them finally arrive where their family is shocked to see them alive.

Maria and Julia take the plane ride home and reflect on their experience and gratefulness for the truck driver.