Feeling So Sick I Couldn’t Walk When a Man Virtually Carried Me to the Toilets.

Back when I was 19 years old, my daily commute involved an express bus. It was perpetually crowded and would always be without any seats once I boarded.

One particular morning, I started experiencing terribly ill when the coach rocked around the bends. I kept telling myself to persevere another few kilometres before the bus reached my stop, and then I could sprint quickly to the closest public toilet to throw up.

The bus was approaching the avenue close to the stop when it dawned on me I would not be to last. All of a sudden, it was like a fog descended upon me. Everything just went blank and silent; as if someone turned off the audio. I thought, “I’m going to faint”.

Thankfully, I was positioned toward the front on the bus, allowing me to take a few steps forward and requested that the driver to pull over, explaining to him I was going to vomit. He opened the bus doors and I stumbled out onto the sidewalk.

I was resolved not to vomit in front of six lanes of traffic, so I gathered myself and started trying to make my way across to the park opposite the street, thinking I could I could at least secretly conceal myself behind a bush to throw up. But then I likely fainted. I could feel my body but I was unable to walk or see properly, so I started dragging myself toward my intended destination.

“Are you okay, dear?”

At that moment, I was lifted up. I sensed someone holding me and a man’s voice asked, “Everything alright, love?” I managed to tell the unknown man that I required to vomit. Therefore, he almost helped me walk into a nearby building and guided me in the ladies’ toilets. He asked me if I needed him to wait for me but I refused.

Not long after, I felt better enough to sit down and from the other side of the door I heard his voice asking, “Are you feeling better, dear? Is there anything you require?” I could not to get up at that moment but I was able to say thank you and after a few more minutes recovered the use of my limbs. I made my way home and spent the following days healing from what was later diagnosed as a horrible case of gastroenteritis.

I never saw his features – only his legs and a large metal toolbox he was carrying – but he saved me, at a moment I was at my most vulnerable.

Many times, life has a way of making you guarded, hostile, and combative. His was the sort of gesture that reverses that emotional callousness. He demonstrated that humanity’s innate tendency is towards kindness, a quality I adore in other people.