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 he have 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.