Feeling So Sick I Was Unable to Walk As a Stranger Practically Supported Me to a Bathroom.
During my 19 years old, my morning travel involved an crowded coach. The vehicle was always full and was consistently without any seats by the time I got on.
During a certain commute, I was feeling quite nauseous as the bus lurched around each corner. I kept telling myself to endure another few kilometres before the bus got to where I needed to get off, so I could then rush hurriedly to the closest public toilet to be sick.
The bus was approaching the street towards the destination as I understood I would not be to hold on. All of a sudden, it felt as if a veil came over me. My vision turned white and really quiet; similar to when one cut the sound. I thought, “I’m going to faint”.
Thankfully, I was positioned close to the driver inside the vehicle, so I managed a couple of steps forward and told the operator to open the doors, informing him I needed to be sick. The driver opened the bus doors and I hurriedly stepped on to the pavement.
I was resolved not to vomit in front of six lanes of traffic, so I forced myself up and started trying to walk to the park across the road, thinking I could it would allow me to discreetly hide behind a bush to be sick. Yet I must have fainted. I could feel my physical self, yet walking was impossible or see clearly, leading me to start dragging myself toward the grassy area.
“You right, love?”
In that instant, I got scooped up. I sensed someone holding me and heard a man say, “Are you okay, dear?” I told this kind passerby that I required to vomit. Thus, he practically carried me into an adjacent building and guided me inside the women’s restroom. He wanted to know whether I required him to remain with me but I said no.
Not long after, I regained my composure to the point of sitting on the restroom floor when from beyond the door I heard him ask, “Are you OK, love? Is there anything you require?” I wasn’t able to rise just then but I did succeed to say thank you and shortly thereafter regained the function of my feet. I returned home and then spent the following days healing from what was later diagnosed as a nasty tummy bug.
I never glimpsed his features – just his lower half and the big steelwork tools container he was carrying – but he saved me, during a time when I was at my most vulnerable.
Frequently, society can make you defensive, aggressive and competitive. His act was the type of kindness that reverses that hardening of the heart. He was proof that our default setting is to be kind, something I love about my fellow humans.
