The Window
(GERMAN SANCHEZ ESPESO translated by susie123)
In the hospital room were two girls, Martha and Juanita. Martha had been born with a weak heart.Martha's life depended upon a small bottle of pills which was always on the bedside table. Juanita, on the other hand, wasn't bothered about dying. Nobody knows what it's like to feel an illness climbing slowly, little by little up one's own legs. It's as if you were running away slowing in shifting sands, the paralysis had already reached her waist. The room only had one window which was next to Martha's bed. Juanita had recently been admitted and during the night, a strange snore awoke her. She pulled the string to turn on the light and she saw her companion fall upon the pill bottle which was on the bedside table. "What's the matter?", asked Juanita. "I'm choking, but don't be afraid, it passes quickly and we go to sleep." said Martha who did not like to speak of her illness. The light from the window awoke Juanita; she thought it was strange there was no noise coming from the street and asked Martha, "Why is there no noise in the street?". "Yes, there is." responded Martha. "It's just that here you can't hear it because the window is double-glazed so the cold won't come in." At that moment, the nurse entered with breakfast. Juanita crossed her arms, she didn't want a bite to eat. "Why don't you eat?" asked Martha. "If you don't eat you'll die." "It doesn't matter." said Juanita. Martha started to eat breakfast in silence while she looked out of the window. "I'm sure that you would eat breakfast if you were that lame puppy dog." "What lame puppy?" asked Juanita. "One which is below, he's nosing the rubbish bins." responded Martha. "It must be very hungry." Juanita started eating her breakfast. The following day, the first thing she did was ask about the lame puppy. Martha looked out of the window to check. "It's not there." she answered and saw that Juanita was sad. She added, "Surely he will have found an owner." Juanita said, "Nobody wants lame dogs." "That's not true." countered Martha. "Some days, I see a boy with his lame dog, he loves to play while the boy fishes from the bridge; the dog chases the ducks." Juanita slept thinking that if some day she was cured, she too would have a dog and she would go fishing from the height of a bridge. Life in the park started mid-morning, that's to say the time the moustached man with the balloons arrived. "What else is there?" asked Juanita. "There is a fat boy who wants to hit a girl but the girl gives him a big push and throws him in the water and as he is so fat, they have to go in a boat to get him out of the water." Martha observed Juanita, it was the first time she saw her smile.Today is Thursday; a band of musicians came with their patent leather shoes, their two rows of buttons and their silver caps. This morning, a golfer arrived with his bag of clubs on his shoulder but the most curious thing is that he plays without balls. May be he's scared of hitting someone. There is always a woman feeding the pigeons with her mouth, the man who pushes his triplets in a triple pushchair, the young woman with her closed umbrella which she neither opens in sun nor rain. Juanita would give anything to be able to occupy Martha's bed. She told her so at dinner time but Martha didn't feel sorry for her. Juanita started to cry. The two girls plunged into a bitter silence which lasted the rest of the day. After dinner, the nurse turned off the light. First to sleep was Martha.She woke out of breath, feeling herself wanting to die. She stretched her arm towards the bedside table to reach the pills that gave her life. The bottle wasn't there. She tried to turn on the light, call Juanita, press the bell, scream. The next day, Martha laid almost out of the bed with her eyes open. Juanita put the new bottle of pills on the table. Now she only had to wait for the nurse to arrive, who took a century. Finally, she heard the breakfast trolley approaching so she pretended to sleep.rtha's small body and carried her to a stretcher. After, she took the sheets and the mattress. Juanita took the precaution of asking where was Martha. "She got better and went home." answered the nurse. The nurse prepared to leave but Juanita asked, "And when are they going to change my bed?" "Today you will occupy Martha's bed."They took so long in bringing a mattress. In the afternoon, they brought the sheets and the pillows. But when the nurses came to move her, it was already dark. At dawn, she awoke to the light from the enormous window. She closed her eyes a moment to prolong the pleasure of that wonderful sensation, then she breathed deeply, opened her eyes and inclined her head to see the park. However, behind the window there was nothing, only a white wall.
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