Ama wasn’t sure exactly how many gods there were. Sometimes she said one, sometimes three or four—her parents hadn’t had time to school her in such things—but however many there were, I knew it was best not to test them. They controlled the stars of heaven, guided the winds of earth, and numbered our days here in the wilderness, and somewhere in Ama’s recollection, she knew calling someone a fool was something the gods frowned upon. Wishing them dead was another matter.
