I Was So Ill Walking Was Impossible 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. The vehicle was always jammed and would always be without any seats by the time I boarded.

On one specific day, I began feeling quite nauseous as the bus rocked around each corner. I repeatedly told myself to persevere for a few more stops before the bus arrived at my destination, so I could then make a mad dash to the closest public restroom to throw up.

The bus was approaching the avenue close to the destination as I realised I would not be to last. Suddenly, it was like a curtain fell over me. The world became white and really quiet; as if someone cut the sound. I thought, “I’m going to faint”.

Luckily I was toward the front of the bus, so I took a couple of steps toward the driver and requested that the driver to open the doors, telling him that I was about to be sick. The driver opened the doors and I stumbled out onto the sidewalk.

My intention was not to vomit in view of six lanes of traffic, so I picked myself up and started trying to make my way to the park across the road, where I thought I could at least secretly conceal myself among some shrubs to be sick. However I likely lost consciousness. I sensed my physical self, yet I couldn’t walk and my vision was blurry, leading me to start dragging myself toward the grassy area.

“Are you okay, dear?”

In that instant, I got scooped up. I sensed an arm around my waist and a man’s voice asked, “You right, love?” I explained to this mysterious stranger that I required to get to a bathroom. So he virtually carried me over to an adjacent building and guided me inside the women’s restroom. He wanted to know if I wanted him to wait for me but I refused.

After a short while, I regained my composure enough to sit on the restroom floor and from outside the stall I heard him inquire, “Are you feeling better, dear? Is there anything you require?” I wasn’t able to get up right away but did manage to express my gratitude and shortly thereafter was able to move my legs. I returned home and spent several days healing from what turned out to be a horrible case of gastroenteritis.

I never glimpsed that man’s face – just his lower half and the big metal toolbox he held – but he saved me, when I was at my most vulnerable.

Many times, life has a way of making you self-protective, pushy, and rivalrous. His act was the type of kindness that undoes that emotional callousness. He demonstrated that our default setting is to be kind, something I love about humanity.