📸 Photo

RESEARCHING THE HOUSING MARKET

there were no posters, the paint was peeling off. The only furniture was a bed and a small bedside table, but even so, there was hardly enough space for three of us.

After a brief conversation, Ricardo handed Alonso a one-boliviano coin.

'Gracias,' he mumbled in response, with a faraway look still on his face. He opened the trapdoor and disappeared slowly down the ladder.

'Where's he going?' I asked.

'He's gone to buy another packet of base,' Ricardo explained, and at that moment I noticed a ginger cat curled up on the bed. I leaned forward to pat it, but Ricardo grabbed my wrist.

'Don't touch the cat!' he warned. 'It'll scratch your eyes out.' When he saw that I was slightly taken aback by his reaction, he explained: 'The cat doesn't let anyone touch him when he's in a bad mood. Wait until Alonso comes back, then you can pat him.'

'What's its name?' I asked, wondering how Ricardo knew that the cat was in a bad mood.

'I don't know his proper name, but I call him Crack Cat,' Ricardo said, chuckling to himself. 'You'll see why in a minute.'

When Alonso returned, he immediately lay down beside the cat. He then reached into his sock and produced a tiny, folded piece of paper containing the base. Next, he felt under his bed for a pipe, which he cleared by tapping against the wall. When the cat heard the tapping sound, it pricked up its ears and climbed onto its master's stomach.

Alonso packed the pipe with tobacco, sprinkled some of the off-white base crystals on top and then lit the mixture using a match. The base bubbled, liquefied and then disappeared completely. Alonso held the smoke in his lungs and his eyes glazed over even more. The cat stalked forward slightly, advancing onto Alonso's chest, looking poised to strike. I was convinced that the cat was going to scratch his face, but as Alonso exhaled a strange thing occurred: the cat craned its neck, lifting its head upwards to get closer to Alonso's mouth. Alonso blew some smoke at its face.

The cat shook its head from side to side, and then sneezed before collapsing back into a comfortable position on Alonso's stomach. It took a deep breath, as if it were sighing, and its eyelids drooped over in contentment. Alonso stroked the cat's back and I heard it purring.

'You see!' said Ricardo, laughing and scratching the cat behind the