Before, there were green hills. Now, narrow roads snake through layers of blackness and thick phantoms of smoke float up from the grounds as if the air is drawing out the past’s vestiges.

In the initial years of catching the addiction, it took Nahin around ten minutes to yank the life out of an otter. Slimy. Glossy. Squeaky. Puppy-faced. Puppy-eyed. Chirping. Purring.