In Such Poor Health I Couldn’t Walk As a Stranger Practically Supported Me to a Bathroom.

At the age of nineteenth year, my daily commute meant taking an express bus. It remained full and was consistently standing room only when I got on.

During a certain commute, I was feeling terribly ill when the coach lurched around the bends. I continuously reassured myself to endure for a few more stops until the bus got to my destination, at which point I could rush hurriedly for the nearest washroom to throw up.

The bus was approaching the road leading to the stop when it dawned on me I wasn’t going to make it. All of a sudden, it seemed a fog descended upon me. My vision turned blank and silent; similar to when one muted everything. I said to myself, “I will lose consciousness”.

Luckily I was toward the front on the bus, so I managed a couple of steps toward the driver and told the operator to stop, telling him that I was about to get ill. He opened the bus doors and I stumbled out onto the sidewalk.

I was resolved not to vomit before a busy multi-lane road, so I gathered myself and started trying to make my way toward the green space opposite the street, where I thought I’d at least be able to discreetly hide near some foliage to vomit. But then I must have blacked out. I could feel my physical self, yet walking was impossible or see properly, leading me to start dragging myself toward the park.

“You right, love?”

At that moment, I was lifted up. There was an arm around my waist and a man’s voice asked, “Are you okay, dear?” I managed to tell the kind passerby that I needed to vomit. Therefore, he almost carried me into a close-by structure and placed me inside the women’s restroom. He wanted to know whether I required him to wait for me but I refused.

Not long after, I had recovered sufficiently to sit on the restroom floor and from outside the stall I heard him ask, “Do you need anything, love? Can I get you something?” I wasn’t able to stand up just then but I was able to thank him and following a brief period regained the function of my limbs. I made my way home passing the following days getting over what was later diagnosed as a severe stomach virus.

I never glimpsed his features – just his lower half along with a sizable metal toolbox he was carrying – yet he rescued me, when I was in my weakest state.

Frequently, society has a way of making you guarded, hostile, and combative. His act was the type of kindness that melts away that protective shell. He demonstrated that our default setting is to be kind, a quality I adore about humanity.