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, families, their homes, their jobs, and where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the man in the bed could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see from 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 colourful activity of the outside world.
The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake, the man said. ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every colour of rainbow, grand old trees graced the landscape and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in distance. As the man by the window described all this in clear detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the beautiful scene.
One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other could not hear the band, he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window explained it with descriptive words. unexpectedly an ugly thought entered his head: 'why should he have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see anything.'
It did not seem fair. As the thought became intense the man felt ashamed first. But as the day passed and he missed seeing more sights, he was envious of the other patient. He began to dislike him and found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window- this thought now controlled his life.
Late one night as he lay starring at the ceiling, the man by the window began to cough. He was chocking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window searched for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room he never moved, never pushed his own button which could have brought the nurse running. Within five minutes the coughing and chocking stopped along with the sound of breathing. Now there was only 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 attendents to take it away. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved to the window. The nurse was happy to make the shifting and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.
Slowly, painfully he pushed 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. He wept endlessly while realising that the other man weaved lovely scenes of imagination to keep him happy.
