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 ward¹ with another patient in the segregation² 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 ongoing³ scenes outside the window: Seen through the window, a lake was lying placidly⁴ 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 leisurely⁵ 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 attentively⁶ 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 depiction⁷ made him feel like seeing the real scene with his own eyes. The picture of life was so harmonious⁸ 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 hesitation⁹ of seconds, he stunningly¹⁰ found that his mate had stopped breathing.

On his roommate’s death, he felt lonely, greatly miserable¹¹ 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 spotted¹² the scene outside the window—a pale wall.

他从来没有像现在这样，如此强烈地渴望窗外的世界。

疫疾来得凶猛，他不能幸免。他和另外一个患者被安排在一家人民医院隔离区的小病房里。房间空空落落，只有一扇小窗连接外面的世界。

同室病友在治疗中，每天下午，将有仪器从他肺中抽取液体，因此，他被允许坐在床上。病友的床紧靠着窗，而他只能终日平躺在床上。

每天下午，睡在窗旁的那个人坐起来，都会饶有兴致地给他讲一些窗外的情景:从窗口向外看可以看到公园里的湖；湖内有鸭子和天鹅，孩子们在那儿撒面包片，放模型船: 年轻的恋人在树下携手散步，在鲜花盛开、绿草如茵的地方有人玩球嬉戏，后头一排树顶上则美丽的天空。

他静静地倾听着，享受生命里每一分钟。他听见一个孩子差点跌到湖里， 一个美丽的女孩穿着漂亮的裙子 。同伴的描述使他如同亲历外面的美景。生命的图画如此和谐，让他眷恋。

一个小雨的黄昏，他突然心有不甘：为什么睡在床边的人可以独享窗外的世界，他觉得不是滋味，心里似有小虫在啃噬，搅得难受。他越这么想，就越想与那人调换一下位子。

夜里，他盯着天花板发呆。病友忽然拼命地咳嗽，想叫护士，却没有摸着紧靠床边的按铃。他先是假装睡熟，后来稍一转念想按床铃……就在这几秒钟的犹豫之中，他吃惊地发现，同伴停止了呼吸…

病友离去，寂寞的他陷入自责中而悲痛万分。医生以为他不想面对那一张空床，答应给他调换一个房间。当他被护士抬起时，蓦地，他看到了窗外的景致——一堵空白的墙。