In Such Poor Health I Couldn’t Walk As a Stranger Virtually Carried Me to a Restroom.
During my my late teens, my morning travel was on an crowded coach. It remained crowded and was consistently without any seats once I boarded.
On one specific day, I began feeling quite nauseous as the bus swayed around every turn. I repeatedly told myself to hold on for a few more stops until the bus reached my stop, and then I could make a mad dash for the nearest public toilet to vomit.
As we neared the road leading to the destination as I understood I was unable to make it. All of a sudden, it seemed a fog descended upon me. The world became blank and silent; as if someone turned off the audio. I thought, “I will lose consciousness”.
Fortunately, I stood close to the driver of the bus, so I managed a few steps forward and told the operator to pull over, telling him I was going to vomit. 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 began attempting to make my way toward the green space on the other side, where I thought it would allow me to find some privacy near some foliage to vomit. But then I apparently fainted. I could feel my physical self, yet I was unable to walk or see clearly, so I started inching my way to my intended destination.
“Are you okay, dear?”
At that moment, someone picked me up. There was someone holding me and a stranger inquired, “Everything alright, love?” I managed to tell the kind passerby that I required to get to a bathroom. So he virtually helped me walk into a nearby building and put me in the ladies’ toilets. He asked me whether I required him to wait for me but I refused.
A few minutes later, I felt better sufficiently to sit on the restroom floor and from outside the door I heard him inquire, “Do you need anything, love? Is there anything you require?” I wasn’t able to get up right away but did manage to express my gratitude and after a few more minutes was able to move my limbs. I made my way home and then spent the following days getting over which was a nasty tummy bug.
I never saw the stranger’s face – just his lower half and a large container for tools he held – yet he rescued me, at a moment I was completely helpless.
Many times, life has a way of making you guarded, hostile, and combative. What he did was the kind of action that undoes that hardening of the heart. He served as evidence that people’s natural inclination is towards kindness, a quality I adore about humanity.