Bagani is a village on the Kavango River, which emerges from the mountain forests of Angola. During the War of Independence, South African soldiers tried to capture Cuito Cuanavale, a city far upriver. The river empties into a pan at the edge of the Kalahari, in Botswana, where it evaporates before reaching the sea. Many people say that a dragon lives in the Kavango.

  Bagani is a village of the Mbukushu people. Before the arrival of Afrikaaners and Portuguese, the Mbukushu had iron tools and farms. They grew millet and spinach. They herded cows, goats, and chickens. They fished and hunted antelope. They fought crocodiles, snakes, hippopotami, and lions. They invented many dances and beats. They played a game about placing colored stones into holes. They played a different game about moving pieces on a board of concentric circles. They ate porridge with relish. They brewed beer from millet.

  In the 21st century, there was a Catholic church in Bagani and a Catholic hospital nearby in Andara. This hospital provided free healthcare to everyone. Bagani had a school, operated by the Government of the Republic of Namibia. Ministries of the GRN also ensured access to affordable water and electricity. There were half a dozen resorts within ten kilometers. In Divundu, nearby, there was a bridge across the river. When people went down to swim and bathe in the rapids, they watched Elephants stand on the far shore, drinking.

  Most Mbukushu people lived with their extended families. Each family had its own compound, surrounded by a reed palisade. (This fence did not protect against incursion but shielded the inner courtyards from wind and snoops.) Each nuclear family had a smaller courtyard within the great compound. In this way, a ring of small courts encircled the central court. Most houses had no more than a bedroom and a sitting room. Each person had their own house, but the whole family shared kitchens, restrooms, courtyards, and gardens. Thatch roofs allowed a light breeze to blow through the houses.

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  They bought rice and pasta from markets in Rundu and Divundu. Many people owned pickup trucks. They used satellite dishes to watch Indian dramas and Chinese action movies. The bowl of the sky spread smooth blue overhead; the air smelled impossibly clean and fresh. Americans only smell clean air when it’s filtered. On a clear night in late autumn, the Milky Way sparkled overhead, pristine like Hubble’s Ultra Deep Field. The note of a piano key rang out from a cluster of houses and Rihanna sang, “Shine bright like a diamond.” There was a soccer field beside the road. Kids wore Messi jerseys and their parents used wire to weave toy cars for them.

  When Blake lived in Bagani, he normally dined with a host family. His hostess would notice him glance at a dish and serve it to him without prompting. Paupers bought him drinks in bars. Meanwhile, Thimemba thought Bagani was boring. When she went to the cities, though, she felt lonely. She missed her traditional food; she missed greeting her neighbors. She even missed the hippopotami bellowing at night. When Blake got back to America, he felt short of breath as his lungs adjusted to the air pollution. His mother picked him up at the airport and drove him to her house. She only waited fifteen minutes before asking him when he would get a job.