Bouki and Malis

In the sun-drenched hills of Haiti, where the air hummed with cicadas and the scent of hot earth rose from the ground, there lived two men as different as night and day. Bouki was large, lumbering, and simple, with a heart led easily by his stomach. Malis, whose very name meant “cleverness,” was sharp-eyed, quick-witted, and slender as a blade