In Such Poor Health I Couldn’t Walk As a Stranger Virtually Carried Me to the Toilets.

During my my late teens, my morning travel meant taking an crowded coach. The vehicle was always full and invariably became without any seats once I stepped aboard.

One particular morning, I began feeling terribly ill as the bus rocked around every turn. I continuously reassured myself to endure just a little longer so the bus could arrived at where I needed to get off, so I could then rush hurriedly to the closest washroom to be sick.

As we neared the avenue close to the stop when I understood I was unable to make it. All of a sudden, it was like a veil came over me. The world became hazy and muffled; as if someone muted everything. I said to myself, “I’m going to faint”.

Luckily I was near the front of the bus, so I took several steps forward and told the operator to open the doors, telling him I was going to be sick. He promptly opened the entrance and I weakly exited out onto the street.

My intention was to not get sick before a busy multi-lane road, so I picked myself up and started trying to stumble toward the green space opposite the street, where I believed I could at least secretly conceal myself among some shrubs to vomit. However I likely blacked out. I could feel my limbs, but I was unable to walk or see clearly, so I began inching my way to my intended destination.

“Everything alright, love?”

At that moment, someone picked me up. There was an arm around my waist and heard a man say, “Are you okay, dear?” I explained to this kind passerby that I had to to vomit. Thus, he practically carried me over to a nearby building and put me inside the women’s restroom. He wanted to know if I needed him to stay with me but I said no.

A few minutes later, I regained my composure sufficiently to sit on the restroom floor and from the other side of the door I heard him ask, “Do you need anything, love? Do you need anything?” I was incapable to stand up just then but did manage to say thank you and following a brief period was able to move my limbs. I got myself home and spent the next few days healing from what was later diagnosed as a severe stomach virus.

I never saw the stranger’s face – only his legs and a large metal toolbox he was carrying – yet he rescued me, when 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 protective shell. He demonstrated that people’s natural inclination is to be kind, a trait I cherish in other people.