A small clay pot with two handles, filled with water.
To the world, Boukalates are just short, rhyming riddles or poems used by women in Algiers during Ramadan nights. They are a game of luck: you make a secret wish, tie a knot in your headscarf, and listen to a poem. The words of the poem are meant to reveal your destiny. But to Meriem, they were the heartbeat of her grandmother’s kitchen, the laughter of aunts she hadn't seen in years, and the soul of a city that was changing too fast.