Traditions are very important in tiny towns. People talk behind one another’s backs, neighbors wonder, and every choice is judged by what others think. But occasionally, behind the curtains of tradition and what people expect, personal catastrophes happen that no one could have seen coming.
This is the story of Don Tomás, a rich farmer who decided to be married again when he was seventy. He wanted a son to carry on his family’s name. Instead, his second marriage, which was full of hardship, age differences, and family pressure, ended in a devastating catastrophe on the very first night.
A Life of Work, Money, and Want
Don
Ten years before, his first wife, Doña Rosa, had died. They had three daughters together, and all of them are now married and settled. But even though he was rich and proud, he had lost one dream: he had never had a son.
That son meant more to him than merely an heir. It meant that his family name would live on, his land would be safe, and he would be proud to leave behind a legacy. As time went on and his health became worse, that desire grew into an obsession.
Picking a Second Wife
Don Tomás chose to get married again, even though he was very old. His daughters were astonished by his choice, his neighbors found it funny, and the whole town was buzzing with talk. But he didn’t feel bad about the choice.
Marisol, a twenty-year-old woman, would be his bride. She was lovely, fragile, and full of life because she was young. But her family was quite poor. They owed money they couldn’t pay back and couldn’t afford to pay for their son’s medical care.
Marisol’s parents agreed to give her hand in marriage when Don Tomás gave them a lot of money. It was a matter of life and death for them. It was a sacrifice for her.
A Daughter’s Job, A Mother’s Tears
Marisol cried quietly in her mother’s arms the night before her wedding. She said, “I don’t want to do this, but I’ll do it for the family.” I just hope he is nice to me. “I will do my duty.”
Her statements showed how heavy the burden was on her. She wasn’t getting married because she loved him or wanted to. She was getting married because she had to, because of tradition and lack of money.
Her mother kissed her forehead, but she couldn’t hide her own tears. They both realized that Marisol’s life was going to be full of unknowns in the future.
A Showy Wedding
The wedding was small yet big enough for the town to notice. Don Tomás wanted everyone to know that he was still strong, able, and “a man.” He went proudly next to his young bride, holding her hand with his wrinkled hands while neighbors muttered behind their fans.
Some others whispered their sympathy for Marisol. Some people made fun of the age difference. But Don Tomás didn’t pay attention to any of them. He smiled with pride. He was sure that he would soon be celebrating the birth of the son he had always wanted.
Marisol, on the other hand, smiled weakly, her heart aching, and her mind elsewhere.
The Night of the Wedding
The newlyweds went to bed that night. Don Tomás looked great in his clothes, and he had a hidden weapon with him: a bottle of “medicinal liquor” that was claimed to make people young and strong again. He drank it with confidence, thinking it would turn him back into the man he used to be.
He took Marisol’s hand and said sweet things to her, his eyes gleaming with excitement. She tried to return his love with a fake smile, even though she was scared and resigned.
But in only a few minutes, the night went from a routine to a horror.
Fall
When Don Tomás got closer, his face immediately changed. He held his chest with his hand. He started to breathe shallowly and roughly. He stumbled and then fell heavily onto the bed.
“Don Tomás!” Marisol wailed, her voice breaking with fear. She ran to his side and tried to rouse him up. But his body was already stiffening, his lips were wet with sweat, and he was having trouble letting out a final, raspy moan.
He had trusted the alcohol to “rejuvenate” him, but it had let him down. His heart, which was becoming older, couldn’t take the stress.
A Messy House
Marisol yelled for aid. The sound of footsteps echoed through the home in a matter of minutes. His daughters came, and then their neighbors came, but they found their father dead and their young bride shaking with fear.
They took him to the hospital, where physicians confirmed what they had already said: Don Tomás had a heart attack that killed him right away.
It was the last night of his life, the night of his wedding.
What the Town Does
Everyone in town knew by morning. Rumors spread like fire. Some people felt sorry for Marisol because they thought she was a victim of circumstances. Some people laughed bitterly and said,
“He couldn’t even give her a son. Fate is fair.
Marisol didn’t say anything. Her face was pallid, and her eyes were blank. She had done what her family wanted, but it was too much to take. She was a widow at the age of twenty.
The Aftermath
The money from the marriage paid off her family’s obligations and paid for her brother’s medical care. In that way, her sacrifice was worth it. But the cost was too much for Marisol.
People will always remember her as “Don Tomás’s second wife,” the young bride who never really had a marriage. She was ashamed to be both poor and a widow too young.
Her wedding, which was supposed to start a fresh chapter, ended in tragedy instead.
Tradition, Money, and the Weight of Expectations
This story is about more than just one woman’s bad luck. It talks about the risks of customs that put money before love, marriages that are set up for convenience instead of friendship, and families that have to make terrible choices because they are poor.
For older readers, it may bring up memories of when young women were often married off to much older men, not because they wanted to but because they had to. Even if society has changed, some sections of the world still have these kinds of customs, where money and survival are more important than personal satisfaction.
And for Don Tomás, money couldn’t buy the legacy he wanted. His daughters lost their father, his wife lost her youth to grief, and his dream of having a son died with him that night.
“I will do my duty,” she said to her mother. That’s what I think of when I think of Marisol. That feeling of duty shaped her future.
Her narrative reminds us that behind every custom and every choice taken in the name of family or lineage, there are people—often young women—whose lives are forever changed by choices they did not make for themselves.
Don Tomás had enough money to pay off bills, but it couldn’t stop bad things from happening. His wish for a son did not bring him happiness but despair, and he left behind a legacy of sadness instead of strength.
Marisol’s wedding night, which should have been the start of something new, turned out to be the end of her innocence and her freedom and the start of a heavy load she would have to carry for the rest of her life.
