Summary

A currently unnamed protagonist who is around eight years old listens as her three brothers tell their dreams. She is part of the Akha tribe who relies on omens to predict how their days will go. Her mother, known as A-ma, interprets the dreams over breakfast every morning. The narrator is asked to tell her dream, but she lies because she saw a dog on a roof in her dream, which is a bad omen. Her family calls her girl, further hiding her real name from the reader.

The family all heads out to pick tea leaves and the narrator tells the reader that they all must be careful passing through the spirit gate. It is a large gate depicting a naked man and woman with enhanced...