I Was So Ill Walking Was Impossible As a Stranger Essentially Lifted Me to a Bathroom.

During my my late teens, my morning travel was on an packed public transport. The vehicle was always jammed and would always be without any seats once I got on.

On one specific day, I was feeling incredibly sick when the coach lurched around each corner. I continuously reassured myself to endure just a little longer so the bus could got to my stop, at which point I could rush hurriedly to the closest public restroom to be sick.

We were coming down the street towards the destination as I understood I would not be to last. In an instant, it felt as if a veil came over me. My vision turned white and really quiet; like someone had muted everything. I thought, “I’m going to faint”.

Thankfully, I was positioned toward the front on the bus, so I managed a few steps toward the driver and asked the driver to stop, telling him that I was about to vomit. He promptly opened the bus doors and I weakly exited on to the pavement.

I was resolved to avoid being sick in view of multiple lanes of cars, so I forced myself up and started trying to walk toward the green space opposite the street, thinking I could it would allow me to discreetly hide behind a bush to throw up. Yet I apparently fainted. I was aware of my body but I was unable to walk or see properly, leading me to start dragging myself toward the grassy area.

“Are you okay, dear?”

At that moment, someone picked me up. I sensed an arm around my waist and a man’s voice asked, “You right, love?” I told this kind passerby that I needed to vomit. Thus, he practically supported my weight over to a close-by structure and placed me in the ladies’ toilets. He wanted to know if I needed him to stay with me but I declined.

Not long after, I regained my composure sufficiently to sit down and from outside the door came him inquire, “Are you feeling better, dear? Is there anything you require?” I wasn’t able to rise right away but I was able to say thank you and after a few more minutes regained the function of my feet. I got myself home and spent several days recovering from what turned out to be a nasty tummy bug.

I never saw the stranger’s face – merely his legs along with a sizable metal toolbox he was carrying – but he saved me, at a moment I was at my most vulnerable.

Frequently, society has a way of making you self-protective, pushy, and rivalrous. His act was the type of kindness that reverses that hardening of the heart. He demonstrated that our default setting is to be kind, a trait I cherish about humanity.