Alice had grown accustomed to the smell, her furry companions and clutter closing in around her.Once sickened by the smell of rotting bananas in the market, her nose no longer noticed the stench that wafted into the hallway through the small crack under her front door.A locked bolt and three chains kept her inside and she was just fine with that.

Alice had not had a shower in months, since the water and electricity had been shut off in her building and she hadn't applied an ...