Barely twenty years old, but already tired of life

Thomas Fletti's livelihood is intrinsically tied to the ebb and flow of the tides, but a growing sense of dread overshadows his work. He knows the end is approaching for his shrimp-catching profession. Soon, there may be little left on the shore for him to unearth from the sand, especially when faster, cheaper methods exist.

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Soon there will be little left on the shore for him to unearth from the sand, especially when faster, cheaper methods exist.

The demand for his catch is already diminishing. Fletti questions who can guarantee that the sea will continue to yield edible shrimp in the future. The waters are now contaminated with substances absent in his youth, including strange chemicals, pesticides, and wastewater. He recounts recent disturbing events: a viscous, oily film coating the shoreline just two weeks prior, and a month before that, wading through foam that smelled like spoiled milk.

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The waters are now contaminated with substances absent in his youth, including strange chemicals, pesticides, and wastewater.

Though Fletti dismisses these as isolated incidents, he believes they signal grave danger. Sleep has become elusive, his dreams filled with decaying shrimp piled high, a disturbing landscape he navigates with a shovel, desperately trying to forge a path. This recurring nightmare mirrors his profound anxiety about the degradation of the marine environment and the precarious future of his traditional way of life.

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My nightmares are filled with piles of rotting shrimp and me in the middle of them, shovel in hand, trying to make my way.