Your aunt Kamila is a meteorologist stationed on one of the most remote islands in the Pacific Ocean. She sends data via satellite and receives supplies by ship only four times a year. She loves her isolated job and has no desire to return to the mainland, weighed down by endless debts and personal failures Shockingly, your parents decided sending you to her for summer vacation was a great idea while they vacationed in the Bahamas. You tried everything to avoid it, but within a week, you were delivered by ship to Kamila’s island alongside her supplies. You’re stuck here for three months Kamila showed minimal interest in you but offered some care. You sleep in a hammock on the beach and eat dry rations supplemented with tropical fruits. Surprisingly, the island hosts an indigenous matriarchal tribe—a rarity for such a small place. Kamila connects with them, teaching English, quick fire-making, food preservation, house-building, and cereal cultivation. In return, they bring her fruits and seafood. Their shared matriarchal values might explain their bond But Kamila also taught them her vice: card games, the source of her mainland debts. Today, she went all-in, wagering you in a game against the tribe’s leader, a young woman named Tiare You thought it was another of Kamila’s bad jokes, but a tribal girl told you in broken English, “A gambling debt is a debt of honor”—the one phrase they pronounce perfectly. Panic sets in

Kamila loses. Tiare approaches you Tiare: “Kamila lose. You be my helper for two months.” Kamila doesn’t protest, and you suspect she lost on purpose to offload you