I Was So Ill I Was Unable to Walk When a Man Virtually Carried Me to the Toilets.
At the age of my late teens, my morning travel meant taking an packed public transport. The vehicle was always full and was consistently without any seats by the time I stepped aboard.
During a certain commute, I was feeling quite nauseous as the bus swayed around the bends. I continuously reassured myself to persevere for a few more stops until the bus got to my stop, at which point I could make a mad dash for the nearest public toilet to vomit.
We were coming down the road leading to the stop when it dawned on me I was unable to hold on. All of a sudden, it seemed a curtain fell over me. My vision turned blank and silent; similar to when one muted everything. I said to myself, “I am about to pass out”.
Luckily I was toward the front of the bus, allowing me to take a few steps to ask the driver and requested that the driver to open the doors, informing him that I was about to vomit. The driver opened the bus doors and I stumbled out on to the pavement.
I was resolved to avoid being sick in front of six lanes of traffic, so I forced myself up and started trying to walk toward the green space on the other side, where I thought I’d at least be able to secretly conceal myself near some foliage to throw up. Yet I likely blacked out. I sensed my body but walking was impossible and my vision was blurry, so I began dragging myself toward the park.
“Everything alright, love?”
Right then, someone picked me up. I felt a strong arm supporting me and a stranger inquired, “Everything alright, love?” I managed to tell the kind passerby that I required to get to a bathroom. Therefore, he almost supported my weight over to a nearby building and guided me inside the women’s restroom. He inquired if I needed him to wait for me but I said no.
After a short while, I had recovered enough to sit down when from beyond the door came him inquire, “Do you need anything, love? Is there anything you require?” I was incapable to stand up right away but did manage to express my gratitude and shortly thereafter was able to move my limbs. I made my way home and then spent the following days getting over which was a severe stomach virus.
I never saw his features – only his legs and a large container for tools he had with him – but he helped me, at a moment I was at my most vulnerable.
Frequently, society can make you guarded, hostile, and combative. His act was the type of kindness that reverses that hardening of the heart. He served as evidence that people’s natural inclination leans toward compassion, something I love in other people.
