I Was So Ill Walking Was Impossible As a Stranger Virtually Carried Me to a Bathroom.

At the age of my late teens, my morning travel involved an express bus. The vehicle was always crowded and invariably became standing room only once I stepped aboard.

During a certain commute, I began feeling terribly ill when the coach rocked around each corner. I continuously reassured myself to endure just a little longer so the bus could arrived at my destination, and then I could sprint quickly to the closest washroom to vomit.

We were coming down the street towards the stop when I realised I wasn’t going to make it. In an instant, it was like a curtain fell over me. My vision turned blank and silent; like someone had cut the sound. I thought, “I’m going to faint”.

Thankfully, I was positioned near the front on the bus, allowing me to take several steps to ask the driver and asked the driver to open the doors, explaining to him I needed to be sick. The driver opened the bus doors and I weakly exited out onto the street.

I was resolved to avoid being sick in front of six lanes of traffic, so I gathered myself and began attempting to make my way to the park opposite the street, where I believed I could at least discreetly hide behind a bush to throw up. Yet I likely lost consciousness. I was aware of my physical self, yet walking was impossible or see clearly, so I began dragging myself toward the grassy area.

“Everything alright, love?”

Right then, I was lifted up. I sensed a strong arm supporting me and a stranger inquired, “Everything alright, love?” I managed to tell the mysterious stranger that I needed to get to a bathroom. Therefore, he almost supported my weight down into a nearby building and guided me inside the women’s restroom. He inquired if I wanted him to wait for me but I refused.

A few minutes later, I had recovered enough to sit down and from outside the door came his voice asking, “Are you feeling better, dear? Is there anything you require?” I was incapable to stand up at that moment but I did succeed to thank him and after a few more minutes recovered the use of my limbs. I made my way home and spent the next few days recovering from what was later diagnosed as a nasty tummy bug.

I did not see that man’s face – only his legs and a large metal toolbox he held – but he saved me, at a moment I was completely helpless.

Frequently, society has a way of making you self-protective, pushy, and rivalrous. 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, a quality I adore in other people.