Don Tom\u00e1s, 70, was a wealthy farmer in a rural town in Oaxaca.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He had had his first wife, Do\u00f1a Rosa, who died ten years earlier, leaving him three married daughters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite his advanced age, Don Tom\u00e1s still dreamed of having a son who would carry on his last name and continue the family line, a wish that remained unfulfilled for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So he decided to remarry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His choice was Marisol, a 20-year-old daughter of a poor family from the same town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marisol was beautiful and fresh as spring, but poverty had hit her hard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her parents, needing money to pay for their youngest son\u2019s medical treatment, agreed to give her away in exchange for a large sum of money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although she didn\u2019t want to, Marisol agreed to the marriage out of love for her family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On the eve of the wedding, with tears in her eyes, she told her mother:
\u201cI just hope he treats me well\u2026 I will do my duty.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wedding was simple but striking, because Don Tom\u00e1s wanted the entire town to know he was still \u201cstrong\u201d and ready to father a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The neighbors murmured and criticized the large age difference, but he didn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He smiled with satisfaction, excitedly preparing for the wedding night, confident that Marisol would soon be pregnant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although resigned, she tried to appear happy to fulfill her role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wedding night arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don Tom\u00e1s, elegantly dressed, drank some medicinal liquor that, he said, would make him feel young again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He took Marisol\u2019s hand and led her to the bedroom, his eyes full of anticipation. She, nervous, forced a smile, afraid of disappointing him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The atmosphere became intimate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Don Tom\u00e1s whispered endearments to her when suddenly, his face contracted, his breathing labored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He let go of Marisol\u2019s hand, placed the other on his chest, and fell heavily onto the bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon Tom\u00e1s! What\u2019s wrong with him?\u201d Marisol cried, her eyes wide with terror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She tried to hold him, but his body was already rigid, drenched in sweat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A hoarse moan escaped his throat, shaking the young woman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The image of the liquor he had drunk minutes before flashed through her mind: what he had trusted to \u201crejuvenate\u201d him had turned into a silent poison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Desperate, Marisol called for help. Don Tom\u00e1s\u2019s daughters and other relatives burst into the room, finding the old man motionless and the young bride crying, lost in the confusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That night was a chaos of screams, running, and crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They took Don Tom\u00e1s to the hospital, but the doctors could only confirm the worst: he had suffered a sudden heart attack due to exertion and age.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The news spread throughout the town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
People, already murmuring about the unequal marriage, now spoke louder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some felt sorry for Marisol, others mocked:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe didn\u2019t even manage to give her a son\u2026 fate is just.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Marisol remained silent, her gaze lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She remembered his words: \u201cI will do my duty.\u201d But that duty never began; it all ended in a tragedy no one had foreseen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After the funeral, the money received from the wedding was enough to pay her family\u2019s debts and her brother\u2019s treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But in return, Marisol faced a cruel fate: a widow at twenty, forever marked as \u201cDon Tom\u00e1s\u2019s second wife.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Their wedding night, which was supposed to be the beginning of an engagement filled with pressures and expectations, ended up becoming the last night of a man\u2019s life\u2026 and the beginning of the heavy cross a young woman would have to bear for the rest of her days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Don Tom\u00e1s, 70, was a wealthy farmer in a rural town in Oaxaca. He had had his first wife, Do\u00f1a Rosa, who died ten years earlier, leaving him three married daughters. Despite…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1758,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-viral-tales"],"yoast_head":"\n