A 70-year-old man marries a 20-year-old woman as his second wife to have a son,
but on their wedding night, an unexpected tragedy occurs…
Don Tomás, a 70-year-old wealthy farmer in rural Oaxaca, widowed for a decade, had three married daughters but no son to carry his name. Desperate, he remarried Marisol, a beautiful 20-year-old from a poor family. Her parents traded her for money to treat their youngest son’s illness; Marisol agreed tearfully out of duty, whispering to her mother, “I just hope he treats me well… I will do my duty.”
The simple wedding flaunted Don Tomás’s virility to the gossiping town, ignoring the age gap. He beamed, eager for a heir. Marisol forced smiles, resigned.
On the wedding night, he drank “medicinal” liquor to feel young, led her to bed with anticipation. She trembled nervously. Suddenly, his face twisted; he clutched his chest and collapsed, rigid and sweating. A groan escaped as Marisol screamed for help.
Relatives rushed in amid chaos. Rushed to hospital, doctors confirmed a fatal heart attack from exertion and age—the “rejuvenating” liquor proved poisonous.
The town buzzed louder: pity for Marisol, mockery for the old man who “couldn’t even give her a son.” She stayed silent, haunted.
The wedding money saved her brother and cleared debts, but left Marisol a widow at 20, branded forever as “Don Tomás’s second wife.” Their night of expected duty became his death—and her lifelong burden.
