The Gift

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 military service, where they had been on holiday.
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 colour of the world outside.
The window overlooked a park with a 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 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 mind'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 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 at the real world outsideHe 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."

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can't buy.

"Today is a gift, that's why it is called the present."

Edited and compiled by
Mrs Kajal Ji
Member~"Yaatra" watsapp group

Be there !

The on-duty nurse took the anxious young Major to the bedside. "Your son is here," she said softly, to the old man lying there.She had to repeat the words several times before the patient's eyes opened.
Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Major standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Major wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.
The nurse, observing the touching moments, brought a chair so that the Major could sit beside the bed."Thank you Ma'am!" a polite acknowledgement followed. All through the night the young Major sat there in the poorly lit ward, holding the old man's hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the officer move away and rest awhile.
He graciously refused.
Whenever the nurse came into the ward, he was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital - the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients.
Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Major released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse.While she did what she had to do, he waited...Finally, she returned,- &  started to offer words of sympathy, but the Major interrupted her."Who was that man?" he asked. The nurse was startled"He was your father," she answered . "No, he wasn't," the Major replied ."I never saw him before in my life. "Then why didn't you say something when I took you to him?""I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn't here!"
The nurse listened on, confused.
 "When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed."
"So then what was the purpose of your visit here, at the hospital, good sir?",  the nurse queried of him. "I came here tonight to find a Mr. Vikram Salaria.  His son was Killed in J&K last night, and I was sent to inform him."The nurse stood listening in eerie silence...
 "What was this Gentleman's Name? ", the officer continued The Nurse answered with teary eyes...  "Mr. Vikram Salaria...!
The next time someone needs you ... just be there!





Edited qnd compiled by
Mrs Mala ji
(Member- "Yaatra" watsapp group)