SUE and Johnsy, two young artists, shared a small flat. The flat
was on the third storey of an old house.
Johnsy fell very seriously ill in November. She had pneumonia.
She would lie in her bed without moving, just gazing out of the
window. Sue, her friend, became very worried. She sent for the
doctor. Although he came every day there was no change in
Johnsy’s condition.
One day the doctor took Sue aside and asked her, ”Is anything
worrying Johnsy?”
“No,” replied Sue. “But why do you ask?”
The doctor said “Johnsy, it seems, has made up her mind that
she is not going to get well. If she doesn’t want to live, medicines
will not help her.”
Sue tried her best to make Johnsy take an interest in things
around her. She talked about clothes and fashions, but Johnsy
did not respond. Johnsy continued to lie still on her bed. Sue
brought her drawing-board into Johnsy’s room and started
painting. To take Johnsy’s mind off her illness, she whistled
while working.
Suddenly Sue heard Johnsy whisper something. She quickly
rushed to the bed and heard Johnsy counting backwards. She was
looking out of the window and was saying, “Twelve!” After sometime
she whispered “eleven”, then “ten”, then “nine”, “eight”, “seven”. Sue
anxiously looked out of the window. She saw an old ivy creeper
climbing half-way up the brick wall opposite their window. In the
strong wind outside, the creeper was shedding its leaves.
7. The Last Leaf
It is autumn. The wind is blowing hard and it is
raining heavily. All the leaves on an ivy creeper
have fallen, except one. Why doesn’t the last
leaf fall?
