People Who Make My Day #4
I had a big cardboard box full of books, food, clothes and a pillow, which I had to carry from my old room to the tube station and then from another tube station to my boyfriend's place. It wasn't that the box was too heavy, it was more that the box was too big for my arms to carry comfortably. I had to walk very slowly, one step at a time, so it probably gave the illusion to people that the box was dead weight. I believe I was also grimacing with my face, because the box was cutting cuts into my fingers, which was much worse than the actual weight issue.
A few times, I believe there were a few people who were about to ask me whether I needed help, they nearly opened their mouth as if to talk as they walked past me. But I guess they stopped themselves when they realised they would actually have to make an effort and commit to first in carrying my box and then to walking with it to whereever my home was. I guess it's understandable, because if the roles were reversed and I saw someone carrying a box too heavy for them, I too would probably have walked by even though I'd liked to have helped, and just compensated my passive helpfulness with a compassionate look.
When I was a few hundred metres from home, my fingers were suffering numerous cuts and my left knee was starting to bruise from the constant bumping of the box's edge on it, and I was starting to feel like it would be impossible to take another step, an angel (a lovely man) stopped and asked me whether I needed any help. I thanked him and gave him the widest smile I could muster with my facial muscles, and told him I was nearly home, so it wouldn't be necessary. Our encounter made me smile all the way home and forget about the throbbing pain as I thought about how wrong I have been to label and stereotype everyone as lazy citizens that are afraid to get involved and committed to helping someone. There are great, decent individuals out there, whose principles in life is still to be as kind and helpful as possible to everyone.
