I Was So Ill I Was Unable to Walk When a Man Practically Supported Me to a Restroom.

At the age of 19 years old, my morning travel was on an crowded coach. The vehicle was always jammed and would always be without any seats by the time I stepped aboard.

On one specific day, I began feeling quite nauseous while the vehicle rocked around the bends. I continuously reassured myself to endure another few kilometres before the bus arrived at where I needed to get off, and then I could sprint quickly for the nearest public toilet to throw up.

We were coming down the street towards the stop when I realised I wasn’t going to make it. In an instant, it felt as if a curtain fell over me. Everything just went white and really quiet; like someone had muted everything. My mind raced, “I’m going to faint”.

Luckily I was near the front inside the vehicle, so I took several steps forward and asked the driver to open the doors, explaining to him I needed to get ill. He promptly opened the doors and I weakly exited on to the pavement.

I was determined not to vomit before a busy multi-lane road, so I picked myself up and began attempting to make my way across to the park opposite the street, where I believed it would allow me to find some privacy among some shrubs to throw up. But then I apparently lost consciousness. I was aware of my limbs, but walking was impossible and my vision was blurry, leading me to start inching my way to my intended destination.

“Everything alright, love?”

In that instant, I got scooped up. There was an arm around my waist and a man’s voice asked, “You right, love?” I explained to this mysterious stranger that I needed to get to a bathroom. Thus, he practically carried me over to an adjacent building and placed me inside the women’s restroom. He wanted to know whether I required him to remain with me but I declined.

After a short while, I felt better sufficiently to sit on the restroom floor and from the other side of the door I heard his voice asking, “Are you OK, love? Do you need anything?” I wasn’t able to stand up right away but did manage to express my gratitude and after a few more minutes recovered the use of my feet. I returned home and then spent the next few days getting over what was later diagnosed as a severe stomach virus.

I never glimpsed his features – just his lower half and a large metal toolbox he was carrying – but he helped me, at a moment I was at my most vulnerable.

Often this world can make you defensive, aggressive and competitive. What he did was the kind of action that melts away that hardening of the heart. He served as evidence that humanity’s innate tendency is towards kindness, something I love about my fellow humans.