A Bed by the Window.

The stories Retold

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service and wounds for which they were here.

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. He was sad. Throughout the day, he would go on cursing his luck, his disease and how hard the hospital beds were. He was so depressed that he didn’t want to live any more.

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window was made to sit up, he would continue describing all the beautiful things he could see outside the window.

“The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and to the tunes of the band of a passing military parade .

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and see his good times when he would enjoy such after noon to the tunes of their military band.

He began to live for those one hour periods. He waited for the day when he can leave his bed to see the view. And soon his health improved.

Days, weeks and months passed.

One morning, the man by the window died peacefully in his sleep. The hospital attendants took his body away.

Now, the other man requested to be moved next to the window. The nurse was surprised but made the switch.

Slowly, painfully, the man propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside. The lovely park and the floating ducks. He could not see them.

So he strained with all his might to get up and peer beyond the window.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse when was the wall constructed what happened to the lovely park.

She was surprised but smiled sadly and said ” That man had lost his eyesight in the war.”

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy despite our own unhappy situations.

( I believe this is from O Henry but not sure.)