When the body of Esteban washes up drowned from the sea, the women in the small village wash the mud off the corpse and scrape way the crust that has accumulated on him to reveal

the tallest, strongest, most virile, and best built man they had ever seen.

They see in his face a look of "pride." It is not the "lonely" look of other drowned men they have seen.

This is not a realistic description of Esteban. Instead, the women—and then the men—project onto Esteban all their own longings for a hero. They make him into a larger than life figure—taller, better, more handsome, and more heroic than any real person could be.

The story is a parable; it is not trying to be realistic but to use magical realism to teach a lesson. It is showing that what we believe matters.

When the story opens, as the drowned man appears, we learn that the village is located in a "desertlike" place and that there are "no flowers." People, in other words, live cramped, dry, fearful lives. However, by believing in the bigger-than-life miracle of Esteban, the villagers are filled with a new hope and a renewed sense of energy and courage. They start digging for hidden springs of water and planning to plant flowers. The story implies that the people's belief that they can make their lives richer and better will motivate them to do so.