The Power to See Clearly Through Total Darkness

Jack, a man with a grave illness was taken after the surgery to a hospital room for two. Since the window-side bed was already occupied by Timothy, another patient who survived an equally serious cancer operation, Jack was given the bed on the other side of the room from which he could not see outside.

But that was not a problem since Timothy could take a peek outside from his bed and share what he saw with Jack.

“Oh,” Timothy would say, “what a fantastic garden they have out here. I wish you could see it.”

But Jack was too sick to get up and check it out for himself.

“What do they have?” he would ask Timothy out of curiosity.

“Oh man, what they don't have! Rows and rows of red fragrant roses... a great water fountain decorated with cupid statues... tulip beds, winding stairs around a central park, and lovers walking hand in hand... kids flying kites...”

Jack would usually doze off in peace as he was listening to Timothy's wonderful descriptions of the world outside.

On his most painful days when Jack started to talk nonsense about ending his own life, Timothy would object vigorously.

“You should be ashamed of yourself!” he would admonish Jack. “Look at this wonderful world outside! Are you nuts? What are you talking about?!”

And he would then again start to share with Jack all the wonderful sights he was observing from his window and Jack would eventually fell asleep.

One day when Jack woke up he realized they were taking Timothy away on a stretcher, with a white sheet pulled over his whole body.

Jack immediately understood what happened. They were taking his dear friend away, forever. His grief was intense and inconsolable.

With great effort he willed himself to the window from where Timothy shared the wonders of the outside world with him for months and...

Jack was shocked to realize that the window was looking at nothing but an ugly concrete backyard where the hospital kept its trash bins.

“But” he said to the nurse next to him, “why did Timothy lied to me for all these months? That's not fair! I'm not a child. I'm a grown up. Why did he have to lie to me?”

“Timothy did not lie to you about what he saw because he couldn't lie,” the nurse corrected him.

“What do you mean?”

“Because Timothy was born blind.”

Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative Copywriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases, movie reviews and hi-tech documentation. He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 companies for the last 7 years.
 

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