In Such Poor Health Walking Was Impossible As a Stranger Virtually Carried Me to a Restroom.
At the age of my late teens, my morning travel was on an crowded coach. The vehicle was always jammed and was consistently completely full by the time I stepped aboard.
On one specific day, I was feeling incredibly sick while the vehicle rocked around every turn. I kept telling myself to hold on just a little longer so the bus could reached where I needed to get off, at which point I could sprint quickly toward the most convenient public toilet to vomit.
We were coming down the avenue close to the stop when I realised I would not be to make it. In an instant, it felt as if a curtain fell over me. My vision turned white and really quiet; similar to when one turned off the audio. I thought, “I am about to pass out”.
Thankfully, I was positioned toward the front on the bus, so I took a couple of steps to ask the driver and told the operator to stop, informing him that I was about to be sick. He promptly opened the bus doors and I stumbled out out onto the street.
I was determined to not get sick in front of a busy multi-lane road, so I forced myself up and started trying to make my way to the park on the other side, where I believed I could at least find some privacy behind a bush to vomit. But then I apparently fainted. I could feel my physical self, yet walking was impossible or see clearly, leading me to start inching my way to my intended destination.
“Everything alright, love?”
At that moment, I got scooped up. There was an arm around my waist and a stranger inquired, “You right, love?” I told this unknown man that I required to get to a bathroom. Thus, he practically helped me walk over to an adjacent building and guided me in the ladies’ toilets. He wanted to know if I wanted him to remain with me but I declined.
A few minutes later, I had recovered sufficiently to sit on the restroom floor when from beyond the door I heard him ask, “Do you need anything, love? Is there anything you require?” I could not to get up just then but I did succeed to say thank you and after a few more minutes was able to move my legs. I returned home and then spent the next few days healing from what turned out to be a nasty tummy bug.
I never glimpsed the stranger’s face – only his legs and a large metal toolbox he was carrying – yet he rescued me, when I was at my most vulnerable.
Frequently, society has a way of making you self-protective, pushy, and rivalrous. What he did was the kind of action that reverses that protective shell. He served as evidence that people’s natural inclination leans toward compassion, a trait I cherish in other people.
