Feeling So Sick I Was Unable to Walk As a Stranger Essentially Lifted Me to a Restroom.

Back when I was my late teens, my morning travel was on an packed public transport. It was perpetually jammed and would always be completely full when I stepped aboard.

During a certain commute, I was feeling terribly ill while the vehicle swayed around the bends. I repeatedly told myself to hold on for a few more stops before the bus reached my destination, at which point I could rush hurriedly for the nearest public toilet to throw up.

We were coming down the street towards my stop and I realised I would not be to make it. All of a sudden, it felt as if a fog descended upon me. The world became hazy and muffled; similar to when one muted everything. I thought, “I am about to pass out”.

Luckily I was toward the front inside the vehicle, so I took a couple of steps toward the driver and told the operator to open the doors, explaining to him that I was about to vomit. He promptly opened the bus doors and I weakly exited out onto the street.

My intention was to avoid being sick in front of a busy multi-lane road, so I forced myself up and began attempting to stumble to the park on the other side, where I believed it would allow me to discreetly hide among some shrubs to vomit. Yet I likely blacked out. I was aware of my physical self, yet I was unable to walk or see properly, leading me to start dragging myself toward my intended destination.

“Everything alright, love?”

In that instant, I was lifted up. There was a strong arm supporting me and a stranger inquired, “Everything alright, love?” I managed to tell the kind passerby that I needed to get to a bathroom. Thus, he practically carried me into a nearby building and placed me in the ladies’ toilets. He asked me whether I required him to stay with me but I said no.

Not long after, I had recovered to the point of sitting on the toilet and from the other side of the door I heard him inquire, “Do you need anything, love? Is there anything you require?” I could not to rise at that moment but did manage to say thank you and after a few more minutes regained the function of my limbs. I returned home and then spent several days getting over what turned out to be a nasty tummy bug.

I did not see his features – just his lower half and the big steelwork tools container he had with him – but he helped me, during a time when I was in my weakest state.

Frequently, society has a way of making you guarded, hostile, and combative. His was the sort of gesture that reverses that protective shell. He demonstrated that humanity’s innate tendency is towards kindness, a trait I cherish about my fellow humans.