In Such Poor Health Walking Was Impossible When a Man Practically Supported Me to a Restroom.
During my my late teens, my morning travel involved an express bus. It remained full and would always be standing room only when I boarded.
During a certain commute, I began feeling quite nauseous as the bus lurched around every turn. I continuously reassured myself to hold on another few kilometres before the bus reached where I needed to get off, so I could then sprint quickly toward the most convenient washroom to vomit.
We were coming down the road leading to my stop and it dawned on me I was unable to hold on. Suddenly, it seemed a fog descended upon me. Everything just went hazy and muffled; like someone had cut the sound. I said to myself, āI will lose consciousnessā.
Fortunately, I stood close to the driver inside the vehicle, so I managed a few steps forward and requested that the driver to open the doors, telling him I was going to vomit. The driver opened the doors and I stumbled out on to the pavement.
My intention was to not get sick in front of six lanes of traffic, so I gathered myself and started trying to walk toward the green space opposite the street, thinking I could it would allow me to discreetly hide behind a bush to be sick. However I must have lost consciousness. I could feel my physical self, yet walking was impossible and my vision was blurry, so I started crawling towards the grassy area.
āYou right, love?ā
At that moment, I got scooped up. There was a strong arm supporting me and a manās voice asked, āEverything alright, love?ā I told this unknown man that I required to vomit. So he virtually helped me walk down into a close-by structure and placed me in the ladiesā toilets. He wanted to know if I needed him to stay with me but I refused.
A few minutes later, I felt better sufficiently to sit on the restroom floor and from outside the stall I heard his voice asking, āAre you OK, love? Can I get you something?ā I could not to stand up right away but I did succeed to express my gratitude and shortly thereafter was able to move my feet. I returned home and spent the next few days healing from what was later diagnosed as a nasty tummy bug.
I never glimpsed that manās face ā merely his legs and the big steelwork tools container he had with him ā but he helped me, at a moment I was at my most vulnerable.
Often this world can make you defensive, aggressive and competitive. His was the sort of gesture that undoes that emotional callousness. He demonstrated that peopleās natural inclination is towards kindness, something I love about my fellow humans.
