One day, when the two of them were left alone in the common room, the sky suddenly turned dark and the wind picked up. Looking at the leaves still clinging to the plant, the girl whispered weakly to her companion, “The leaves would all be gone tomorrow.”

That night, there was a heavy thunderstorm and the wind was howling and tearing through trees like a wild beast.

Early the next morning, the girl asked to be wheeled into the common room. To her surprise, she saw a leaf still clinging onto the plant.

“Well,” she thought sadly, “It would probably be gone tomorrow.” She did not see her old friend that day.

Determined to see whether the leaf was still on the plant, she again asked to be wheeled to the common room the next morning. The leaf was still on the plant.

Seeing the leaf’s determination to cling on to its life despite all odds seemed to give the girl a reason to live. She got better as the days passed. Soon she became well enough to be discharged. She did not see her old friend all these while.

A month after she was discharged, the girl returned to the hospital hoping to see her old friend again.

“Oh, that old gentleman who always sit with you in the common room?” The nurse at the ward reception asked. The girl nodded her head. “I’m sorry, my dear,” the nurse said sympathetically, “he passed away about three weeks ago.”

“No!” the girl cried, covering her mouth. Her friend was recovering when she last saw him. How could he have died?

“I’m sorry,” the nurse said, seeing how distressed she was. Coming out from behind the reception counter, the nurse led the girl to a seat near the window. Patting the girl’s shoulder awkwardly, the nurse continued, “It is rather sad. We all thought he was recovering from his cough and he was looking forward to returning to his paintings. However, one morning, I think you were still with us then, after a heavy storm the previous night, he was found drenched in his room. He refused to tell anyone how he got so wet or where he went the previous night.” The nurse shook her head sadly.

“His cough got worse,” the nurse continued, “and he caught pneumonia a few days later. He never recovered from that.”

The girl stared at the nurse dazedly. She realized what had happened. She felt guilty. She thanked the nurse and walked out of the hospital, vowing not to waste her life and to cherish the gift she was given.