The Hospital Window...

One of my favorite story, first read it when I was 14 years old in a story book, "My Sister My Sorrow" culdn't recall the Author's name.. but even than, I already felt the beauty of it, the sadness and how dangerous 'penyakit hati' culd be...

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room with a hospital window. 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. 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 wonderful things he could see outside the hospital window, a park with a lovely lake, 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. 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.

Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered the other man's 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 hospital window - and that thought now controlled his life.

Late one night, as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the hospital 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 hospital 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 hospital window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendant to take it away-no works, no fuss. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the man asked if he could be moved next to the hospital 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 hospital window beside the bed...........

It faced a blank wall.

'The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way'