The Last Leaf

A few days in the I.C.U made me very dull. When the wheezing was under control, without those tubes and masks, I realized what I went through. Till now I was totally blank. Wished the suffering would somehow end. By death or cure, I didn’t mind.

I was shifted to this room only today morning. I don’t remember how many days I was in the I.C.U. Doctor was joking and smiling. She was repeating all that I said, may be in a temporary state of delirium….She said I’ll show you how beautiful this world is..She made me sit on a chair near the window….She drew the window curtains. Wow! This is the most beautiful sight I ever had in all the 57 years of life. The setting sun never had so many colours. The beauty of a sunset is a splendour to behold. My eyes devoured the beauty of nature as if I am seeing it for the first time. The rainbow splashed its colours all over the sky.
I looked down. I was in a room on the 5th floor. Looking down, the busy street came into view. Vehicles running, people walking in a hurry to reach somewhere .
Last evening a story I learned in school went through my mind. It was “The Last Leaf” by O.Henry. That was a story that touched my heart. The story was about two young girls, Sue and Johnsy ,and an old friend of them,Behrman. They were all struggling artists. Once Johnsy had an attack of Pneumonia, and everyone was sure she would die.
Johnsy lost all hopes. She looked out the window and saw an old, old ivy vine, gnarled and decayed at the roots, climbed half way up the brick wall. The leaves were falling in the wind and Johnsy felt when the last leaf falls she too would die.
Old Behrman was a painter who lived on the ground floor beneath them. He was past sixty.Behrman was a failure in art. He had been always about to paint a masterpiece, but had never yet begun it. For several years he had painted nothing. He earned a little by serving as a model to those young artists in the colony who could not pay the price of a professional.
Sue and Behrman tried to convince Johnsy, but she would not listen. That night there was heavy wind and rain. Johnsy woke up and looked out. The last leaf was still there. It didn’t fall in the rain..She got back hopes of life..
It was Behrman who painted the leaf on the wall. He thought if he could bring back hopes in the young girl’s heart, she would survive. Risking his life, he spent the night painting the leaf so that the girl would believe the leaf didn’t fall. It was his masterpiece. He died of pneumonia, the next day…This is the story…
I too lost all hopes ..Actually wished the suffering would end somehow….But today I’m sitting here and watching the beauty of nature. Did anyone paint a leaf of hopes on the wall for me too?