Riona (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rionaleonhart) wrote2026-06-08 11:03 am
rionaleonhart) wrote2026-06-08 11:03 am
Entry tags:
A Friend You Haven't Met.
Yesterday, I was on the bus. It was almost empty; I was one of five passengers on the top floor, all of us travelling alone and scattered throughout the seating.
I was a little nervous when one of the other passengers - a man - left his seat at the front and walked back, past all the empty seats and the two men sitting between us, to sit next to me, the sole woman on the upper deck.
This story ends well.
The man asked for directions. It would be a long journey involving multiple modes of transport, which put me on edge; I would have to spend some time looking things up and explaining them, so this wouldn't be a quick interaction. I was relieved when, partway through my efforts, the man a couple of seats ahead looked back and started answering my neighbour's questions; he evidently knew what he was talking about, so this would speed things along.
Once he had his directions, the man next to me didn't leave. He pulled his trouser leg up to show me his swollen knee, twice. He asked if I had any painkillers. I checked and said I didn't. He spotted a box of pills in my bag and started pressing me to give him those. I explained that they were antihistamines, not painkillers. He kept pressing: "Those will help me."
I was confused and nervous and I didn't know how to say no. I looked up and saw that the man a couple of seats ahead, the one who'd helped out with the directions, was still looking back at us. He caught my eye and shook his head.
I was reassured to be given some direction, and to know that someone else had noticed this interaction and also thought there was something odd about it. It gave me the strength to say that, no, these weren't painkillers, and I didn't think they would help him with his pain.
The man next to me saw my water bottle and started pressing me to give him a drink of water. I didn't like that he was obviously paying so much attention to my belongings, and I didn't really want to let a stranger drink from my reusable water bottle, but it wasn't an unreasonable request on the face of things; everyone needs water. How could I say no?
The man a couple of seats ahead spoke up. He told my neighbour, politely but firmly, that he was bothering me, and advised him strongly to go back to his seat at the front of the bus. The man who'd been hassling me got up and walked away.
My rescuer checked on me afterwards. He asked when I'd be getting off the bus, and he offered to escort me off at my stop, so I could be sure I wouldn't be followed.
I was very, very moved; I'm getting a little tearful just retelling this story. It's one of the kindest things a stranger has ever done for me.
Another thing that struck me: both of the other men on the top deck also spoke up to offer me reassurance and support in the aftermath. ("Stay safe," one of them told me, very sincerely.) I'd felt isolated in the moment, but it turned out that, even if some people hadn't known how to help (and I can't blame them; it's a tricky situation!), everyone around us had been paying attention to the interaction and hoping I'd be okay.
When my rescuer had seen me safely off the bus, he asked whether I was okay. I asked if I could hug him, and he let me. I tried to express how kind he'd been and how much I appreciated his help.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'd want someone to do the same thing for my fiancée." A tiny pause, and then he added, hastily, "Or my sister!"
I thought it was endearing that he'd evidently thrown out the first example without thinking much of it, then thought, Wait, it'll probably set her more at ease if I use a non-romantic example.
Anyway! This whole thing really got me thinking about kindness and humanity and brief connections with strangers. I don't know the name of the man who helped me out, and it's very unlikely that I'll ever see him again. But I'm glad he was there, and I hope good things happen for him.
And, if you have your own tales of a stranger doing something kind for you, I'd love to hear them!
I was a little nervous when one of the other passengers - a man - left his seat at the front and walked back, past all the empty seats and the two men sitting between us, to sit next to me, the sole woman on the upper deck.
This story ends well.
The man asked for directions. It would be a long journey involving multiple modes of transport, which put me on edge; I would have to spend some time looking things up and explaining them, so this wouldn't be a quick interaction. I was relieved when, partway through my efforts, the man a couple of seats ahead looked back and started answering my neighbour's questions; he evidently knew what he was talking about, so this would speed things along.
Once he had his directions, the man next to me didn't leave. He pulled his trouser leg up to show me his swollen knee, twice. He asked if I had any painkillers. I checked and said I didn't. He spotted a box of pills in my bag and started pressing me to give him those. I explained that they were antihistamines, not painkillers. He kept pressing: "Those will help me."
I was confused and nervous and I didn't know how to say no. I looked up and saw that the man a couple of seats ahead, the one who'd helped out with the directions, was still looking back at us. He caught my eye and shook his head.
I was reassured to be given some direction, and to know that someone else had noticed this interaction and also thought there was something odd about it. It gave me the strength to say that, no, these weren't painkillers, and I didn't think they would help him with his pain.
The man next to me saw my water bottle and started pressing me to give him a drink of water. I didn't like that he was obviously paying so much attention to my belongings, and I didn't really want to let a stranger drink from my reusable water bottle, but it wasn't an unreasonable request on the face of things; everyone needs water. How could I say no?
The man a couple of seats ahead spoke up. He told my neighbour, politely but firmly, that he was bothering me, and advised him strongly to go back to his seat at the front of the bus. The man who'd been hassling me got up and walked away.
My rescuer checked on me afterwards. He asked when I'd be getting off the bus, and he offered to escort me off at my stop, so I could be sure I wouldn't be followed.
I was very, very moved; I'm getting a little tearful just retelling this story. It's one of the kindest things a stranger has ever done for me.
Another thing that struck me: both of the other men on the top deck also spoke up to offer me reassurance and support in the aftermath. ("Stay safe," one of them told me, very sincerely.) I'd felt isolated in the moment, but it turned out that, even if some people hadn't known how to help (and I can't blame them; it's a tricky situation!), everyone around us had been paying attention to the interaction and hoping I'd be okay.
When my rescuer had seen me safely off the bus, he asked whether I was okay. I asked if I could hug him, and he let me. I tried to express how kind he'd been and how much I appreciated his help.
"Don't worry about it," he said. "I'd want someone to do the same thing for my fiancée." A tiny pause, and then he added, hastily, "Or my sister!"
I thought it was endearing that he'd evidently thrown out the first example without thinking much of it, then thought, Wait, it'll probably set her more at ease if I use a non-romantic example.
Anyway! This whole thing really got me thinking about kindness and humanity and brief connections with strangers. I don't know the name of the man who helped me out, and it's very unlikely that I'll ever see him again. But I'm glad he was there, and I hope good things happen for him.
And, if you have your own tales of a stranger doing something kind for you, I'd love to hear them!
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This is smart! I'll have to remember that. I was wearing a mask, too, which would probably have bolstered the story!
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One time, when I was in college (university), I was doing a study abroad thing in France. I went and bought some shampoo, and tried to carry it back to where I was staying in the tiny little plastic bag from the store. It bounced along my crutches too many times and the bottle split and the bag tore, shampoo oozing everywhere.
I sat down on the curb for a moment to try to figure out what to, then popped into this little French shop that…it’s like a convenience store type shop but it’s also got tables and serves beverages. I asked for paper towels. The guy running the shop took one look at me, had me sit down at the table, and gave me a free Coke while he cleaned up the mess. I offered to pay, but he insisted. I was like twenty in a foreign country dealing with a sticky mess and just stressed, and he jumped in and took care of it and got me a cold drink. French people, actually super nice!
Also one time in Cebu, I was trying to catch a ferry and I ended up on the wrong dock, so I asked for directions and this guy got his friend with a motorcycle to take me there. Like I would advise most people to exert more caution about accepting rides from strangers than that, but this nice young man just drove me to a completely different dock and made sure I could get the ferry and go where I needed to go, and he didn’t even know me, he was just being helpful.
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I'm glad things ended up okay, but aaa, what a stressful experience that must have been. I'm glad that stranger didn't just ignore you and instead gave you the help you needed. Faith in humanity restored, etc.
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I've mostly gotten help from service people who didn't have to give extra service - always grateful for that especially when I'm the one causing extra trouble (not on purpose, just due to circumstances).