Don Tomás, 70, is a wealthy farmer in a rural town in Oaxaca. His first wife, Doña Rosa, died ten years ago, leaving him with three married daughters. Despite his advanced age, Don Tomás still dreams of having a son who will carry on his surname and continue the family line, a desire that for him remains unfulfilled.
That is why he decides to marry again. The chosen one is Marisol, a 20-year-old girl, daughter of a poor family in the same town. Marisol is beautiful and fresh as spring, but loneliness hits her hard. Her parents, who need money to pay off debts and pay for the medical treatment of their youngest son, agree to give her away in exchange for a large sum of money.
Although she does not want it, Marisol accepts the marriage out of love for her family. On the eve of the wedding, with tears in her eyes, she told her mother,
“I just hope he treats me well… I will fulfill my duty.”
The wedding was simple but striking, as Don Tomás wanted the whole town to know that he was still “strong” and ready to be the father of a child. The neighbors murmured, criticizing the large age difference, but he didn’t care. He smiled happily, eagerly preparing for the wedding night, confident that Marisol would soon become pregnant. Although he was resigned, he tried to look happy to fulfill his duty.
The wedding night arrived. Don Tomás, elegantly dressed, drank some medicinal wine that, according to him, would make him feel young again. He took Marisol’s hand and led her into the room, his eyes full of hope. He smiled nervously, afraid of disappointing her.
The atmosphere became intimate. Don Tomás was whispering words of love to her, when suddenly his face turned pale, his breathing became labored. He let go of Marisol’s hand, placed the other on her chest and fell tightly onto the bed.
—”Don Tomás! What’s wrong with him” Marisol shouted, her eyes filled with fear.
She tried to hold him, but his body was already stiff, drenched in sweat. A loud groan escaped from his throat, shaking the young woman.
The image of the wine she had drunk a few minutes before her thought crossed her mind: what she had hoped to “rejuvenate” had turned into a silent poison.
Out of despair, Marisol called for help. Don Tomás’ daughters and other relatives entered the room, finding the old man motionless and the young bride crying, lost in confusion.
That night there was a commotion of screaming, running and crying. Don Tomás was taken to the hospital, but the doctors only confirmed the worst: he had suffered a fulminant heart attack due to exertion and age.
The news spread throughout the town. The people, who had already been murmuring about that unequal marriage, now spoke even louder. Some pitied Marisol, others mocked:
“She didn’t even give him a child… As long as fate is fair.”
Marisol remained silent, her gaze lost. I remember her words: “I will do my duty.” But that duty never began; everything ended in a tragedy that no one expected.
After the funeral, the money received from the wedding was enough to pay off her family’s debts and her brother’s treatment. But in return, Marisol brought a cruel fate: to become a widow at the age of twenty, forever marked as “Don Tomás’ second wife”.
The wedding night, which should have been the beginning of an engagement full of pressures and expectations, became the last night of a man’s life. and the beginning of the heavy cross that a young woman would have to bear for the rest of her days.