Two men, both seriously ill,
occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for
an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid 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 holiday.
And every afternoon when the man
in the bed by 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 began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be
broadened and enlivened by all the activity and colour of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with
a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their
model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every colour 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 couldn't hear the
band - he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window
portrayed it with descriptive words. Days and weeks passed.
One morning, the day nurse
arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the
man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and
called the hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed
appropriate, the other 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 at the world outside. Finally, he would have the joy of
seeing it for himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside
the bed.
It faced a blank wall. The man
asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had
described such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that
the man was blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he
just wanted to encourage you."
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