The omena night shift

Omena rise to light. That single fact organises the whole of Silas Omondi's life: he sleeps in the afternoon, eats at five, and is on the water by seven with a lamp burning at the bow.

The crews go out on the dark nights, in the week either side of the new moon, because a bright moon spreads the fish and the lamps lose their argument. Six men to a boat, and the catch split six ways — Silas has never seen a reason to change that.

The real innovation at Mbita was not on the water at all. It was moving the drying off the sand and onto raised racks. It cost money the crews did not have. It doubled what buyers would pay, and it took the grit out of every meal for a thousand kitchens.

By the time the sun is properly up, the racks are full and the boats are pulled clear. The day belongs to somebody else.