The Phoenix

© 2002 Daniel Verastiqui

Esteban Garza was named for his father. His father was named for his father and so on before that. In fact, Esteban was the 8th generation of Garza to have this name. Esteban took pride in having a long heritage. The origin of the name had been passed down from father to son, but Esteban's father had died before he could tell him the story. Little did he know that the name came from a cartoon from the 1980's in which a boy named Esteban rode around on a giant golden bird. The story had changed over the generations. Esteban's father couldn't really recall if the bird had been named "The Phoenix" or not. It didn't make much of a difference though, the story would not go on. Esteban would never know why the ship he inherited was named "The Phoenix." Every time he would ask his father, he would get no reply. Esteban Sr. was waiting for the right time to tell the story. He waited too long.

That was years ago and Esteban had m...