Feeling So Sick Walking Was Impossible As a Stranger Virtually Carried Me to a Bathroom.

Back when I was 19 years old, my daily commute meant taking an express bus. It was perpetually crowded and would always be completely full once I boarded.

One particular morning, I was feeling incredibly sick when the coach lurched around every turn. I continuously reassured myself to persevere just a little longer before the bus reached where I needed to get off, so I could then sprint quickly for the nearest public restroom to throw up.

As we neared the road leading to the stop when I realised I wasn’t going to hold on. All of a sudden, it seemed a veil came over me. The world became white and really quiet; similar to when one cut the sound. I thought, “I am about to pass out”.

Thankfully, I was positioned near the front on the bus, allowing me to take a couple of steps forward and asked the driver to stop, informing him that I was about to be sick. He opened the entrance and I weakly exited out onto the street.

My intention was to not get sick in front of multiple lanes of cars, so I gathered myself and started trying to stumble toward the green space on the other side, where I believed I could at least discreetly hide near some foliage to be sick. Yet I likely fainted. I sensed my limbs, but walking was impossible and my vision was blurry, leading me to start dragging myself toward my intended destination.

“Everything alright, love?”

Right then, I was lifted up. I sensed someone holding me and a stranger inquired, “Everything alright, love?” I managed to tell the unknown man that I required to be sick. Therefore, he almost supported my weight down into a nearby building and put me in the ladies’ toilets. He wanted to know whether I required him to wait for me but I declined.

A few minutes later, I had recovered enough to sit down and from the other side of the door I heard his voice asking, “Are you OK, love? Is there anything you require?” I could not to stand up just then but I was able to express my gratitude and shortly thereafter was able to move my feet. I got myself home and then spent the following days healing from what was later diagnosed as a severe stomach virus.

I never saw the stranger’s face – only his legs along with a sizable metal toolbox he held – but he helped me, during a time when I was at my most vulnerable.

Often this world can make you self-protective, pushy, and rivalrous. His was the sort of gesture that undoes that hardening of the heart. He served as evidence that people’s natural inclination is towards kindness, something I love in other people.