Everything Looks Better from Faraway

It is a beautiful summer day. I have just finished my usual weekly chemotherapy and I am relaxing in the hospital's garden to overcome the tiredness. It was unusually quiet this morning, just nature and me. I sat on a wooden bench near the pond, where dead leaves from the trees swam lazily, taking my mind away from the treatment I had spent in the last two hours in the chemo room. I really like the feeling of the crisp air; the kind of coolness soothes my mind after the morning ordeal. The splash on the pond, made by the few ducks landing on the water, woke me up from my feeling sorry state.

This is my ritual every week, sitting on this bench after my treatment, closing my eyes for a few minutes, trying to remember what life had been like before the cancer became part of my life, before the hospitals and treatments. Every time I am in this garden, the place is so peaceful, so much better from this distance - like an oil painting by Turner. From here, the pain, the uncertainty, the endless medications all seemed negligible and invisible.

The sounds of wheels on the gravel made me turn round. I saw a man in a wheelchair slowly coming to my bench. I could see his legs, thin and lifeless, covered with a blanket. He looked tired; he was pushing the chair, as he did not have a hospital porter's help. I could see he was very exhausted. Despite his tiredness, he had a very warm smile. He parked the wheelchair next to the bench.

"Do you mind if I join you? My name is Tom.

"Of course not," I replied, it is Alan. I slid over and turned my head to see and speak to him properly.

We sat together in silence for a few minutes, both of us were enjoying the pond and the sound of the birds. Finally, Tom started talking.

" You know, I used to be a runner. Marathons, the lot. Now, well-" he removed the blanket, exposed his legs, unmoving.

" I had a spinal injury. One fall on the wrong day, and my life changed forever ." I saw a few tears drop from his eyes, but they were quickly wiped.

"I am here for prostate cancer treatment. I feel like the medication I am given has taken everything from me. Especially, the side effects are horrible. It affected my manhood. I am no good in bed anymore, I can only get in my soul, sitting here and feeling sorry by remembering old days , " I sighed. I was surprised it was a subject I had never dared to talk to anybody about, especially a stranger

Alan chuckled softly." It has not taken your eyes. You still see this," he showed the garden." That is more than some manage. Funny thing- when I first lost my legs, all I could think about was what I could not do anymore. Then one morning, I wheeled myself out here. Sat right where you are sitting. And I thought, from here, my life doesn't look so bad. The world still blooms, the water in the pond is moving, the sky above us still stretches, while the sun shines brightly. Everything looks better from Faraway, even our lives," and looked at me.

I looked at the pond, trees, and flowers. The sunlight flickering through the trees, the sound of quacking by the ducks, and my chest felt lighter. Thanks to Tom, I realised today I had seen this more natural way.

" You are right ", I whispered to him. "From here, it does look better."

We sat down in silence after that, each of us was carrying burdens, but finding, in a shared moment, to dispose of them. They were far away now,