In Such Poor Health Walking Was Impossible As a Stranger Virtually Carried Me to the Toilets.

During my my late teens, my morning travel meant taking an packed public transport. The vehicle was always jammed and invariably became without any seats by the time I boarded.

On one specific day, I was feeling incredibly sick as the bus lurched around each corner. I repeatedly told myself to persevere another few kilometres until the bus arrived at where I needed to get off, at which point I could sprint quickly toward the most convenient washroom to vomit.

The bus was approaching the avenue close to my stop and I realised I would not be to last. In an instant, it was like a curtain fell over me. Everything just went hazy and muffled; as if someone muted everything. I thought, “I will lose consciousness”.

Fortunately, I stood near the front of the bus, so I managed several steps to ask the driver and asked the driver to pull over, explaining to him I needed to vomit. He promptly opened the entrance and I hurriedly stepped on to the pavement.

My intention was to not get sick in front of multiple lanes of cars, so I gathered myself and endeavored to make my way toward the green space on the other side, where I thought I could at least discreetly hide among some shrubs to be sick. However I likely lost consciousness. I could feel my physical self, yet I couldn’t walk or see clearly, so I began inching my way to the park.

“Are you okay, dear?”

Right then, someone picked me up. There was an arm around my waist and heard a man say, “Everything alright, love?” I managed to tell the kind passerby that I needed to be sick. Thus, he practically helped me walk over to an adjacent building and placed me inside the women’s restroom. He asked me if I needed him to wait for me but I declined.

A few minutes later, I had recovered sufficiently to sit on the restroom floor when from beyond the door I heard his voice asking, “Are you OK, love? Is there anything you require?” I could not to stand up right away but I was able to express my gratitude and after a few more minutes regained the function of my legs. I got myself home passing the following days getting over which was a severe stomach virus.

I never glimpsed the stranger’s face – just his lower half along with a sizable metal toolbox he had with him – but he helped me, when I was completely helpless.

Frequently, society has a way of making you guarded, hostile, and combative. His was the sort of gesture that undoes that protective shell. He served as evidence that people’s natural inclination leans toward compassion, something I love about my fellow humans.