CHAPTER 1
"What will you miss themost when you're gone?"
"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumblebee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell therain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullestpotential and fight for your dreams."—Ashley Smith
The first snowfall of each year was always a magical time for theold man. Although he couldn't see the snow, he could hear it quitewell. The many years without his sight had sharpened his other sensesin a rather amazing way. His window was left open a tiny bit so hecould hear the beauty outside. Just yesterday, he had heard the lastgeese on their way south. He could hear the wind whistle over theopening in the window. He could hear the snow playing a melodywhen it fell against the window.
The old man drifted back, recalling his days as a youngster, andremembering the magic of the first snow.
When he was a child, he would stick out his tongue to catch asnowflake. He had learned in school that all snowflakes are unique.This meant that the snowflake on his tongue was special, and thatmade it special to him.
Through the opening in the window, the old man listened to thesnow and visualized how pretty it would be as it stuck to the treesand bushes. His thoughts drifted back to the days when he couldsee. He remembered how pretty Christmas cards were, especiallyone that showed snow falling upon a Christmas tree. The tree wasdecorated for the holidays and surrounded by white doves. There wasa snowman next to it, with coal eyes, a carrot nose, and a red andwhite scarf around its neck.
The old man thought about how much fun it had been to ride asled down the hill not far from his childhood home. He rememberedthe smell of hot chocolate and the sound of children laughing as theythrew snowballs at each other. Yes indeed, the snow had a magic ofits own.
It was so peaceful. He closed his eyes and ...
There was a knock on the door.
The nurse always knocked before she came in. She knew thatmany of the patients in the nursing home went to bed rather early.Some of the patients needed to take their medicine just beforebedtime.
She loved working at night. It was quiet, and she loved the peoplein her care. She knew that the patients in the nursing home wouldspend their last days of life there, so she made their last days as specialas possible. She had seen so many spend their last few days there andcould remember all their names. Many whose minds were still sharphad thanked her for her kindness. It was their way of saying goodbyeto a friend.
However, she had a special concern about the old man in 3C.He had only been in the nursing home for a few days. His wife haddied a few days earlier, and his health had gotten worse since hisarrival. She felt sad for him. He was blind, and it seemed he hadgiven up on life.
He was lying in bed. Next to him on a table were pictures of hisson and wife, a braille watch, and a small pebble. The old man hadtold someone earlier that the pebble was a tiny piece of lava rockfrom the top of Mount Kilimanjaro. There was also a pair of darksunglasses on the table. The old man had worn sunglasses ever sincehe'd become blind, but this pair had been given to him by his recentlydeceased wife.
"You have a visitor," said the nurse. "There is a young man herewho wants to ask you some questions. He seems very nice and saidthat it would help him greatly."
The old man didn't say anything, but the nurse figured it mightbe good for him to talk to someone. As usual, the nurse wrote downthe time at which she had checked in on him—9:36 P.M.
The young man politely held open the door for the nurse as sheleft the room and told her, "Thank you." Then he took a seat next tothe bed.
The old man turned his head toward the young man, thinkingthat he recognized the voice from somewhere. He remembered whenhe was young and how wonderful it was to be just starting life.
The visitor looked at the old man. His face had the lines of timewritten in many wrinkles around his eyes. He had a white beard thatconveyed character and the wisdom of the ages. Although he wasblind, he had beautiful brown eyes. The young man couldn't imaginewhat the old man had seen—and after losing his sight, what he hadexperienced.
The young man began without hesitation, "I wanted to talk tosomeone who has lived a long life, to help me in mine."
The old man had always been quick to help someone if he could,so he simply looked at the young man and spoke in a faint voice,"Yeah, sure, what can I help you with?"
"When did you really start feeling ... well ... old?"
The old man didn't have to think too much about the question,"Well, I'm ninetytwo now. You would think I started feeling oldin my fifties, sixties, seventies, or eighties. But actually, I didn't startfeeling old until a few days ago. I don't know if the nurse told you,but I lost my wife recently. I feel lost without her, and don't really seethe point of going on. I don't think `old' is a number. Some peoplefeel old when they are young like you. I've never been able to figurethat out. No, as long as I felt loved, I never felt old. I wonder howold some people would think they were if they didn't know how oldthey really were? Some people make themselves older because of theirattitude. Maybe I just had too much to do to think about whether Iwas growing old or not. Anyway, I hope that answers your question."
"Yeah, that's interesting," the young man replied. "I suppose somepeople are just as old as they want to be. Old doesn't necessarily meanold. It just seems like some people grow older faster than others. Whyis that?"
"It's because they lose their purpose in life. It's as if they lose theirreason to live. So, if a person has no reason to live, they might as wellbe dead." The old man knew even as he spoke that he had lost hisreason to live and would be dying soon. When his loving wife haddied, he'd lost his reason to go on. He felt he had fulfilled his purposein life and had made peace with his reasons for living.
The young man was silent for a moment, but then, "I hope it'sokay to ask this next question."
"Ask any questions you want, young man."
"What do you think you will miss most when you're not hereanymore?"
"The answer to that question would be different for differentpeople. But for me, it's pretty easy. I will miss the first snowfall ofthe year, the first bird chirping in springtime, and the sound of leavesrustling under my feet in the fall. And, of course, I will miss myfriends and family. I know some people would probably say that theywould miss their house, or maybe their car,...
