About this story
You have come to survey a railway line and to meet the cousin your family intends you to marry. Licurgo lists what Orbajosa values along the way, faith, family, onions, and knowing why strangers have come, and three armed riders stop to ask what is in your instrument case. Your aunt's welcome is warm; she keeps the map, then asks why a marriage begins with a land dispute.
Who you’ll meet
Dona Perfecta, the composed matriarch of Orbajosa, meeting her nephew's proposal by holding out a land-survey map she will not hand back, with her daughter Rosario watching from the stair.
How it opens
The train left you beside two rails, a locked shed, and a plain without shade.
LicurgoDon Jose de Rey, I knew you by the luggage and the city impatience.
Your aunt's estate agent held the bridle of a mule selected for endurance.
LicurgoOur road crosses pale hills, ravines, and fields abandoned by rain.
Call me Pepe. How far is Orbajosa?
LicurgoNear enough to see by sunset and far enough to regret the saddle.