Dozens of fishermen lowered their nets to look at the spectacle . Some scrunched their moustaches disapprovingly while others dropped their heads and got back to mending their tangled nets .
A strong wind blew and rain drenched the grey town . The water in the harbour ’ s basin began to crease with ripples . Raindrops wrinkled colourful prisms of boat oil and buoys squeaked against rusty hulls .
The woman endured the weather or didn ’ t notice it at all and continued staring out to sea like a lighthouse .
The town shrank under an angry sky and people started to stare . Her nightie stuck to her frame , laminating bumpy rungs and nooks of bone . Above , seagulls circled her . She was standing so still that the odd gull ventured to perch on her head but withdrew when she twitched .