In Such Poor Health I Couldn’t Walk When a Man Practically Supported Me to the Toilets.
Back when I was 19 years old, my regular journey to work was on an crowded coach. It was perpetually jammed and would always be standing room only by the time I got on.
During a certain commute, I started experiencing terribly ill when the coach lurched around the bends. I kept telling myself to persevere another few kilometres before the bus reached my stop, so I could then sprint quickly toward the most convenient public restroom to throw up.
We were coming down the avenue close to the stop when I understood I was unable to make it. All of a sudden, it seemed a fog descended upon me. My vision turned white and really quiet; similar to when one turned off the audio. I said to myself, “I’m going to faint”.
Fortunately, I stood toward the front of the bus, so I managed a few steps to ask the driver and told the operator to stop, informing him I was going to be sick. He promptly opened the entrance and I weakly exited onto the sidewalk.
I was resolved not to vomit in front of multiple lanes of cars, so I gathered myself and endeavored to stumble toward the green space across the road, where I thought I’d at least be able to find some privacy behind a bush to throw up. However I apparently blacked out. I was aware of my physical self, yet walking was impossible or see properly, leading me to start dragging myself toward my intended destination.
“You right, love?”
In that instant, I got scooped up. I sensed a strong arm supporting me and a man’s voice asked, “Everything alright, love?” I told this kind passerby that I needed to get to a bathroom. Therefore, he almost supported my weight down into a close-by structure and put me in the ladies’ toilets. He asked me if I wanted him to stay with me but I refused.
Not long after, I felt better to the point of sitting on the restroom floor when from beyond the stall I heard him inquire, “Are you feeling better, dear? Do you need anything?” I was incapable to stand up at that moment but I did succeed to say thank you and following a brief period regained the function of my legs. I got myself home and spent the next few days recovering from what turned out to be a nasty tummy bug.
I never glimpsed that man’s face – only his legs and a large steelwork tools container he was carrying – yet he rescued me, when I was at my most vulnerable.
Often this world tends to make people self-protective, pushy, and rivalrous. His act was the type of kindness that undoes that emotional callousness. He was proof that humanity’s innate tendency is towards kindness, a quality I adore in other people.
