I Was So Ill Walking Was Impossible Until a Fellow Passenger Essentially Lifted Me to the Toilets.
During my my late teens, my morning travel meant taking an packed public transport. It remained jammed and was consistently without any seats when I got on.
On one specific day, I was feeling quite nauseous as the bus lurched around the bends. I repeatedly told myself to persevere for a few more stops until the bus arrived at my destination, so I could then make a mad dash for the nearest public restroom to vomit.
We were coming down the road leading to the stop when I understood I was unable to make it. All of a sudden, it felt as if a veil came over me. My vision turned white and really quiet; similar to when one turned off the audio. My mind raced, “I am about to pass out”.
Thankfully, I was positioned close to the driver of the bus, so I managed a few steps forward and asked the driver to open the doors, informing him I was going to get ill. He promptly opened the doors and I weakly exited onto the sidewalk.
My intention was to not get sick in front of multiple lanes of cars, so I picked myself up and began attempting to make my way to the park opposite the street, thinking I could I could at least secretly conceal myself among some shrubs to be sick. However I likely blacked out. I was aware of my physical self, yet I couldn’t walk and my vision was blurry, so I began dragging myself toward the grassy area.
“Everything alright, love?”
In that instant, someone picked me up. I felt an arm around my waist and a stranger inquired, “Everything alright, love?” I told this mysterious stranger that I required to be sick. So he virtually supported my weight over to a close-by structure and guided me inside the women’s restroom. He inquired if I wanted him to remain with me but I declined.
Not long after, I had recovered enough to sit on the toilet and from outside the door I heard his voice asking, “Do you need anything, love? Is there anything you require?” I could not to stand up just then but did manage to say thank you and after a few more minutes regained the function of my limbs. I returned home passing several days getting over which was a nasty tummy bug.
I never glimpsed the stranger’s face – merely his legs along with a sizable container for tools he held – but he helped me, at a moment I was at my most vulnerable.
Many times, life has a way of making you guarded, hostile, and combative. His was the sort of gesture that reverses that emotional callousness. He was proof that our default setting is to be kind, a trait I cherish in other people.
