Don Quixote

I was invited to a couple’s wedding ceremony in La Mancha, a village where my grandfather lived in. I almost forgot the name of the village since I had not been back for decades after I left to pursue my dream. I wished to be a successful merchant like my grandpa considering my intelligence and courage. To be honest, grandpa was an outstanding man for he had visited various parts of the world seeking adventures. As a result, I always took grandpa as my model.

The couple intended to invite my grandpa. As the only descendant of the family, however, I received the invitation letter from the small village. In the letter, the bride was named Dulcinea del Toboso and bridegroom was, I had never heard the name, Don Quixote de la Mancha. It was a good reason for me to get back to collect memories and new stories. I packed immediately and got off the next day.

It had changed greatly in the small village. The ceremony was held in a church. The bridegroom was a tall gentleman in a suit. His wife was a young plump lady. Frankly speaking, I could not say she was pretty. The guest on my left told me that the bridegroom was the greatest man in the world. That provoked my interests to sit down and listen to the stories.

“Nobody knew who gave the name to Don Quixote as a knight. It seemed that he was determined to be a knight with courageousness and justice. He had so many adventures and glorious stories, which set the examples for the followers. He insisted on his dream to be a knight and fought against all difficulties and hardship. He was the hero for La Mancha; he was the knight for the nation.

“He had fought against numerous enemies, such as lions and sheep. He captured every opportunity to fulfill his obligations of the profession. He even practiced with the windmills. How valorous he was! Don Quixote deeply loved a young lady called Dulcinea in the village for years and did not speak it out. The fair lady lived in his inner heart and was his motivation to go through the setbacks. What the loyalty of love it was!

“One day, when he fought against a beast in the woods, a group of soldiers passed by and were shocked by his valiant behaviors. The head of them confronted Don Quixote and asked him to join the national army. He agreed with the soldier and became a member of cavalry from that day. Our valorous knight was trained in a tough way but underwent it with his aptitudes and moxie. The war just erupted three years ago, and Don Quixote was sent to the front line. During a major battle, all of the cavalries were dead except for him. The warrior fought to the end and got the victory for the nation as well as the honor for himself.

"Afterwards, he was crowned as a real knight by the Queen of Kingdom and got a large amount of money as the reward. He became the hero for the nation and everyone in the village knew his name. When he returned to the village, he revealed his love to the beloved lady, Dulcinea, who is the bride today. ”

That was what the gentleman told me.

“You know, I’m the best friend of Don Quixote," he said proudly and straightened the his back, " I'm Sancho Panza.”

The lady on my right continued, “Well, I am the best friend of Dulcinea. You must like to listen to her story.”

The lady did not know the original name of Dulcinea. She was not called Dulcinea at the very beginning, but nobody cared, even herself. Dulcinea told everyone that she had a crush on the valiant knight in the village but she was too bashful to talk to him. It sounded reasonable that not all ladies were active or aggressive. She waited for him years after years. One day, she got the news that Don Quixote was conscripted to the national army and assigned to the front line. Our fair lady wept for her breaking heart, but she insisted waiting for her Mr. Right. Years passed, the knight eventually came back to the village and expressed his deepest passion to the lady with a proposal. He called her Dulcinea and she accepted this name. There was no difference between two names for her. As long as she could be with Don Quixote, she was willing to do anything for him, much less to change a name. The lady accepted Don Quixote’s proposal immediately and turned into the bride today.

The guest said, “You won’t believe, Dulcinea had never noticed him before he became famous and wealthy. She said she loved him for years, but only I know the truth.” Women were always caring about gossips. The lady sighed, “He is so charming. Dulcinea is the luckiest woman in the world to be chosen by him. I’m so jealous! ”

On my way back, I came up with a similar story told by my grandpa when I was little. The experience of the main character in grandpa’s story was alike but also different, for everyone in the village thought he was crazy and mocked him. Moreover, the man’s name was something like Quijada or Quesada instead of Don Quixote. It had been a long time and I could not remember the story clearly. I did remember that it was grandpa who dubbed him as a knight. 

By the way, my grandpa owned an inn in La Mancha after he retired. Maybe you have heard about him.