They have a tradition in the City of Azturaj of inviting Kazti girls into their homes to celebrate the year’s end.  The Kazti people live outside the city walls in turf huts with no material possessions but the plain, frayed dresses that leave their arms and ankles bare, and the earthen pots they use for cooking over open fires. They are mute and meditate most of the day, swaying their arms in the wind, scratching the sky with long fingernails. Woodland critters scurry up sturdy legs. Birds peck at palms and nest in an elderly Kazti’s hair. The citizens of Azturaj don’t come into the ...