The Window
by www.SixWise.com
Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.
One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour a day
to drain the fluids from his lungs. His bed was next to the
room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time
flat on his back.
The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives
and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in
the military service, where they had been on vacation. And
every afternoon when the man in the bed next to the window
could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his
roommate all the things he could see outside the window.
The man in the other bed would live for those one-hour periods
where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the
activity and color of the outside world. The window overlooked
a park with a lovely lake, the man had said. Ducks and swans
played on the water while children sailed their model boats.
Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the
rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine
view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As
the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail,
the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes
and imagine the picturesque scene.
One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade
passing by. Although the other man could not hear the band,
he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the
window portrayed it with descriptive words. Unexpectedly,
an alien thought entered his head: Why should hehave all the
pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see anything?
It didn't seem fair. As the thought fermented, the man felt
ashamed at first. But as the days passed and he missed seeing
more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned
him sour. He began to brood and found himself unable to sleep.
He should be by that window - and that thought now controlled
his life.
Late one night, as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man
by the window began to cough. He was choking on the fluid
in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room
as the struggling man by the window groped for the button
to call for help. Listening from across the room, he never
moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought
the nurse running. In less than five minutes, the coughing
and choking stopped, along with the sound of breathing. Now,
there was only silence--deathly silence.
The following morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water
for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man
by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendant
to take it away--no words, no fuss. As soon as it seemed appropriate,
the man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The
nurse was happy to make the switch and after making sure he
was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to
take his first look. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing
it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the
window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall.
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