I Was So Ill I Was Unable to Walk As a Stranger Virtually Carried Me to the Toilets.

Back when I was my late teens, my regular journey to work was on an packed public transport. The vehicle was always crowded and invariably became completely full once I stepped aboard.

One particular morning, I started experiencing quite nauseous while the vehicle lurched around each corner. I kept telling myself to endure just a little longer until the bus got to my destination, and then I could rush hurriedly to the closest public toilet to throw up.

The bus was approaching the road leading to the destination as it dawned on me I would not be to last. Suddenly, it seemed a veil came over me. The world became blank and silent; as if someone muted everything. I thought, “I am about to pass out”.

Fortunately, I stood near the front of the bus, so I took several steps toward the driver and told the operator to stop, explaining to him that I was about to get ill. The driver opened the bus doors and I hurriedly stepped on to the pavement.

I was determined to avoid being sick in view of multiple lanes of cars, so I picked myself up and started trying to walk to the park on the other side, where I thought it would allow me to discreetly hide near some foliage to be sick. But then I must have fainted. I could feel my body but I couldn’t walk or see clearly, leading me to start dragging myself toward the grassy area.

“Are you okay, dear?”

At that moment, I was lifted up. I felt an arm around my waist and a stranger inquired, “You right, love?” I managed to tell the kind passerby that I needed to be sick. So he virtually carried me into a nearby building and placed me inside the women’s restroom. He wanted to know whether I required him to wait for me but I said no.

After a short while, I regained my composure to the point of sitting down and from outside the stall I heard his voice asking, “Are you OK, love? Can I get you something?” I was incapable to rise at that moment but did manage to express my gratitude and after a few more minutes recovered the use of my limbs. I made my way home and then spent the following days recovering from what turned out to be a nasty tummy bug.

I did not see that man’s face – only his legs and a large container for tools he was carrying – but he helped me, at a moment I was at my most vulnerable.

Many times, life can make you guarded, hostile, and combative. His was the sort of gesture that melts away that emotional callousness. He served as evidence that people’s natural inclination is towards kindness, a quality I adore about humanity.