I Was So Ill I Couldn’t Walk As a Stranger Essentially Lifted Me to a Restroom.

During my my late teens, my daily commute meant taking an express bus. The vehicle was always jammed and would always be completely full by the time I stepped aboard.

On one specific day, I started experiencing terribly ill when the coach lurched around each corner. I continuously reassured myself to endure another few kilometres until the bus arrived at where I needed to get off, at which point I could make a mad dash for the nearest public toilet to be sick.

As we neared the street towards my stop and I realised I would not be to make it. Suddenly, it seemed a curtain fell over me. The world became white and really quiet; like someone had muted everything. I said to myself, “I’m going to faint”.

Thankfully, I was positioned close to the driver on the bus, allowing me to take a few steps to ask the driver and requested that the driver to stop, explaining to him I was going to vomit. He promptly opened the entrance and I stumbled out on to the pavement.

I was resolved to not get sick in front of six lanes of traffic, so I gathered myself and began attempting to make my way toward the green space across the road, thinking I could I could at least discreetly hide among some shrubs to vomit. Yet I must have fainted. I was aware of my limbs, but I couldn’t walk or see clearly, leading me to start dragging myself toward my intended destination.

“Are you okay, dear?”

In that instant, I was lifted up. I sensed a strong arm supporting me and a stranger inquired, “Everything alright, love?” I told this kind passerby that I required to vomit. Thus, he practically carried me down into a close-by structure and placed me in the ladies’ toilets. He asked me if I wanted him to remain with me but I refused.

Not long after, I regained my composure sufficiently to sit on the restroom floor and from outside the door came his voice asking, “Are you feeling better, dear? Can I get you something?” I was incapable to stand up just then but I was able to express my gratitude and shortly thereafter regained the function of my feet. I made my way home and then spent the following days recovering from which was a severe stomach virus.

I never saw that man’s face – just his lower half along with a sizable container for tools he held – yet he rescued me, during a time when I was completely helpless.

Many times, life can make you self-protective, pushy, and rivalrous. His act was the type of kindness that undoes that protective shell. He demonstrated that our default setting is to be kind, a quality I adore about my fellow humans.