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 and families, their homes, their jobs,

their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by 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 began to live for those

one-hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all

the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on

the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in

arm amidst 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 couldn't hear the band - he could see it, in his friend’s

eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days and weeks passed. One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water

for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window,

who had died peacefully in his sleep. She was saddened and called the

hospital attendants to take the body away. As soon as it seemed appropriate,

the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse

was happy to 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 at the world outside.

Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it for himself. He strained to slowly

turn to look out the window beside the bed - it faced a blank wall. The man asked

the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described

such wonderful things outside this window. The nurse responded that the man was

blind and could not even see the wall. She said, "Perhaps he just wanted to

encourage you."