I Was So Ill Walking Was Impossible As a Stranger Practically Supported Me to the Toilets.

During my nineteenth year, my daily commute meant taking an crowded coach. The vehicle was always jammed and invariably became without any seats once I got on.

During a certain commute, I began feeling terribly ill while the vehicle lurched around each corner. I kept telling myself to endure just a little longer until the bus got to where I needed to get off, and then I could sprint quickly for the nearest public toilet to be sick.

As we neared the road leading to the stop when it dawned on me I would not be to last. In an instant, it felt as if a veil came over me. The world became blank and silent; like someone had muted everything. I thought, “I am about to pass out”.

Thankfully, I was positioned toward the front inside the vehicle, allowing me to take a few steps forward and told the operator to stop, informing him I needed to get ill. He opened the entrance and I stumbled out onto the sidewalk.

My intention was to not get sick in front of a busy multi-lane road, so I forced myself up and began attempting to make my way to the park across the road, thinking I could I’d at least be able to discreetly hide among some shrubs to be sick. However I must have lost consciousness. I could feel my limbs, but I couldn’t walk or see clearly, so I began inching my way to the grassy area.

“Are you okay, dear?”

At that moment, someone picked me up. I sensed someone holding me and a man’s voice asked, “Are you okay, dear?” I told this mysterious stranger that I needed to vomit. Thus, he practically carried me into an adjacent building and guided me inside the women’s restroom. He wanted to know if I needed him to remain with me but I said no.

Not long after, I had recovered enough to sit on the toilet when from beyond the stall I heard him inquire, “Are you OK, love? Can I get you something?” I was incapable to rise at that moment but I did succeed to express my gratitude and after a few more minutes regained the function of my limbs. I got myself home and spent the next few days healing from what turned out to be a severe stomach virus.

I did not see the stranger’s face – only his legs and a large steelwork tools container he had with him – but he helped me, when I was in my weakest state.

Often this world has a way of making you self-protective, pushy, and rivalrous. His was the sort of gesture that reverses that emotional callousness. He was proof that humanity’s innate tendency is towards kindness, a trait I cherish about humanity.