Feeling So Sick Walking Was Impossible As a Stranger Essentially Lifted Me to a Restroom.

Back when I was nineteenth year, my daily commute was on an crowded coach. The vehicle was always crowded and was consistently standing room only by the time I stepped aboard.

One particular morning, I began feeling quite nauseous as the bus lurched around the bends. I continuously reassured myself to hold on another few kilometres until the bus got to my stop, and then I could rush hurriedly toward the most convenient public toilet to be sick.

As we neared the road leading to the destination as it dawned on me I was unable to last. Suddenly, it seemed a fog descended upon me. My vision turned hazy and muffled; similar to when one muted everything. I thought, “I’m going to faint”.

Thankfully, I was positioned toward the front on the bus, allowing me to take several steps toward the driver and asked the driver to pull over, explaining to him I was going to vomit. He promptly opened the entrance and I stumbled out onto the sidewalk.

I was determined to not get sick before six lanes of traffic, so I picked myself up and began attempting to make my way toward the green space across the road, where I thought I’d at least be able to secretly conceal myself behind a bush to vomit. But then I must have fainted. I could feel my body but I couldn’t walk and my vision was blurry, so I started crawling towards my intended destination.

“You right, love?”

In that instant, I got scooped up. I felt a strong arm supporting me and a stranger inquired, “Are you okay, dear?” I managed to tell the mysterious stranger that I needed to be sick. Thus, he practically supported my weight over to an adjacent building and placed me in the ladies’ toilets. He wanted to know if I wanted him to wait for me but I refused.

Not long after, I regained my composure to the point of sitting on the restroom floor and from outside the door I heard him ask, “Do you need anything, love? Is there anything you require?” I wasn’t able to stand up just then but did manage to express my gratitude and shortly thereafter was able to move my feet. I returned home and spent the following days healing from which was a nasty tummy bug.

I did not see that man’s face – merely his legs and a large container for tools he held – yet he rescued me, at a moment I was at my most vulnerable.

Many times, life tends to make people self-protective, pushy, and rivalrous. His was the sort of gesture that undoes that hardening of the heart. He demonstrated that our default setting leans toward compassion, a quality I adore about my fellow humans.