The Window (Author unknown)

[Guest guest]

Excellent Story - read on - LokeshTwo 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.Source: http://classes.bus.oregonstate.edu/ba465/Stories/The%20Window.htmSkydrive - Get 5GB online space for FREE!. Store and share music, photos and documents online with ease. Try it now!