In Such Poor Health Walking Was Impossible As a Stranger Practically Supported Me to a Bathroom.

Back when I was my late teens, my morning travel involved an express bus. The vehicle was always full and would always be completely full when I stepped aboard.

During a certain commute, I was feeling quite nauseous while the vehicle swayed around every turn. I kept telling myself to hold on just a little longer until the bus arrived at my destination, and then I could rush hurriedly toward the most convenient public toilet to vomit.

As we neared the street towards the destination as I understood I would not be to make it. All of a sudden, it felt as if a curtain fell over me. The world became hazy and muffled; like someone had cut the sound. My mind raced, “I will lose consciousness”.

Thankfully, I was positioned toward the front on the bus, so I took a couple of steps forward and told the operator to stop, informing him that I was about to vomit. He promptly opened the entrance and I weakly exited onto the sidewalk.

I was resolved to avoid being sick in front of six lanes of traffic, so I forced myself up and began attempting to make my way across to the park on the other side, where I thought I could at least find some privacy near some foliage to be sick. But then I likely lost consciousness. I could feel my body but I was unable to walk and my vision was blurry, so I started inching my way to my intended destination.

“You right, love?”

In that instant, I got scooped up. There was an arm around my waist and a man’s voice asked, “Everything alright, love?” I told this mysterious stranger that I had to to be sick. So he virtually supported my weight down into an adjacent building and guided me in the ladies’ toilets. He wanted to know if I needed him to stay with me but I refused.

Not long after, I felt better to the point of sitting on the toilet and from the other side of the door I heard him ask, “Are you feeling better, dear? Do you need anything?” I wasn’t able to stand up just then but I did succeed to express my gratitude and after a few more minutes was able to move my limbs. I made my way home and spent several days recovering from what turned out to be a severe stomach virus.

I did not see that man’s face – merely his legs along with a sizable steelwork tools container he was carrying – yet he rescued me, when I was completely helpless.

Frequently, society can make you defensive, aggressive and competitive. His was the sort of gesture that undoes that hardening of the heart. He served as evidence that humanity’s innate tendency is towards kindness, something I love about my fellow humans.