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Never ever had he been so thirsty for a look at the world outside the window like now.
The disease befell so furiously that he could not be spared and was arranged in a small ward with another patient in the segregation area in a hospital. The ward had nothing other than a small window that connected to the outside world.
His roommate was allowed to sit up in bed because some medical instruments would take some liquid out of his lung every afternoon. His roommate’s bed was tightly close to the window, while he could only lie in bed all day long.
Every afternoon, when sitting up by the window, his roommate would gleefully tell him the ongoing scenes outside the window: Seen through the window, a lake was lying placidly in the park, on which there were ducks and swans. Children were happily casting pieces of bread to the fish or playing with their model ships. Young lovers were leisurely walking strolling hand in hand under the trees. Some people were playing balls in the grass with plenty of flowers blooming. Above the farthest row of trees was the beautiful sky.
He was listening attentively and enjoying every precious minute of life. He was told that a child almost fell into the lake and that an attractive girl was dressed in a delicate skirt. His roommate’s vivid depiction made him feel like seeing the real scene with his own eyes. The picture of life was so harmonious and loving!
In a slightly rainy dusk, he felt not reconciled to his situation suddenly: Why could his roommate enjoy the beautiful landscapes outside the window while he couldn’t? He felt deeply upset as if a bug was eating through his heart. The more he thought, the more eagerly he would like to exchange his position with his roommate’s.
In the midnight, he stared at the ceiling and sank into thought. All of a sudden, his roommate was coughing heavily and wanted to call the nurse, but failed to reach the button of the bell. He pretended to be sound asleep, but after second thought he wanted to press the bell button….. In his hesitation of seconds, he stunningly found that his mate had stopped breathing.
On his roommate’s death, he felt lonely, greatly miserable and guilty for not saving him. The doctor thought that he did not want to face an empty bed every day, so he promised to change another ward for him. Just the moment he was lifted on the stretcher, he spotted the scene outside the window—a pale wall.
