Feeling So Sick I Couldn’t Walk Until a Fellow Passenger Practically Supported Me to a Bathroom.
Back when I was my late teens, my morning travel meant taking an packed public transport. It remained full and was consistently without any seats by the time I stepped aboard.
On one specific day, I was feeling terribly ill while the vehicle lurched around each corner. I continuously reassured myself to hold on another few kilometres until the bus reached my stop, at which point I could rush hurriedly to the closest washroom to vomit.
We were coming down the street towards the stop when I realised I would not be to last. All of a sudden, it seemed a curtain fell over me. My vision turned white and really quiet; similar to when one turned off the audio. My mind raced, “I’m going to faint”.
Thankfully, I was positioned near the front on the bus, so I took several steps toward the driver and told the operator to stop, informing him I was going to be sick. The driver opened the doors and I hurriedly stepped out onto the street.
My intention was to not get sick in front of a busy multi-lane road, so I picked myself up and endeavored to stumble toward the green space on the other side, where I believed I’d at least be able to secretly conceal myself among some shrubs to be sick. But then I must have fainted. I was aware of my body but walking was impossible or see properly, so I started crawling towards the grassy area.
“Everything alright, love?”
In that instant, I was lifted up. There was someone holding me and heard a man say, “You right, love?” I told this unknown man that I needed to be sick. Therefore, he almost supported my weight over to a close-by structure and guided me inside the women’s restroom. He inquired if I wanted him to stay with me but I declined.
After a short while, I had recovered to the point of sitting on the restroom floor and from the other side of the door I heard him ask, “Are you feeling better, dear? Do you need anything?” I wasn’t able to rise at that moment but I did succeed to thank him and shortly thereafter recovered the use of my legs. I made my way home and then spent several days recovering from what was later diagnosed as a severe stomach virus.
I never saw that man’s face – only his legs and a large metal toolbox he held – but he helped me, when 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 melts away that protective shell. He served as evidence that humanity’s innate tendency is towards kindness, a quality I adore about humanity.
