Reverence

It is an ordinary morning.
The alarm goes off at its scheduled time. I rub my eyes but refuse to leave the snug blanket. It's bitterly cold. The weather department, not mincing words, has declared the temperature to be two degrees below normal, expected to continue for an entire week. Frosty winds have resolved to shatter my window.
Many feeble turns later, I finally gather the courage to step out of the refuge. Outside, the sun, having fiercely rejected all pleas of an appearance, has the nerve to wink mockingly from behind its veil of clouds. 

The good lady next door steps out in her balcony with a small glass of water. She gives me a disapproving glance ("It's 9 in the morning and you are still prancing around in pajamas.The single, working girls these days, I tell you... Must have been partying last night. Still looks a wee bit drunk to me!")

She is barefoot, her head covered with a bright red dupatta that clashes violently with the rest of her pink outfit. She turns her face towards the east, bows her head in reverence to the non-existent sun, raises her hands high above the head and lets the water cascade.
A slight shiver runs down my back as I see the cold water go down the drain; but not before drenching the lady's feet. Involuntarily, she shivers too.
Her lips move in silent prayer ("Just ten more kilos, please dear god! I have a more expensive pair of pyjamas...just ten more kilos!")
She concludes her prayer, throws another smug glance in my direction and makes her way back into the house. As she opens the door to her living room, I catch a faint snippet from the morning news- "... six degrees, partly cloudy sky with no traces of sun..."
I swear to Satan, it's a conspiracy!