An Eventful Busride

9.4. 20:58
Thursday morning, and I didn’t expect today to be any different from any other normal day. But I was wrong. Something would happen. Something that would shake me up a little bit.

I did my morning walk and then went back home to start working, as I always do. After I finished work, I went to the city centre for my boxing session. I go there twice a week. I did well in my session and then went to the bus station to take the bus back home. The bus came and I got on, not knowing that it would take me on a ride I wouldn’t forget anytime soon.

People got on and off the bus. About four stops before mine, something happened. I was sitting in the last row, so I didn’t see why, but suddenly the bus had to brake really, really hard. It was an emergency stop. I had never experienced anything like that on a bus before, at least not this intense.

It took a moment for everyone to gather themselves. Then I thought everything would be fine and we would just continue, but I was wrong. I noticed that people were all staring at one point, and someone was screaming. It sounded like someone was crying. That’s when I realized that someone had gotten hurt.

At first, I couldn’t really see anything because there were so many people on the bus, and I was sitting in the back corner. But soon enough, people started standing up, trying to see what was going on, and I could hear the crying getting louder. So I moved to get a better view. Finally, there was enough space for me to step forward and see what was happening.

I saw a girl lying on the floor. It was a strange image. She was just lying there, and almost everyone else stayed where they were. No one really seemed to be attending to her. And mind you, I was the furthest away, and it had already happened a few moments before. So I was surprised that no one was really next to her helping her. I just heard someone say that they had called an ambulance.

I don’t know, but it felt natural to me. I had my sports bag with me from boxing, and I just took it and made my way through the crowd towards her. There were a lot of people, at least 20, and they were all just standing or sitting there, staring. I moved through them and went straight to her. I asked her if she wanted some water, since I had my bottle with me. She said yes, so I sat down next to her on the floor and gave her some. That’s when I realized how much she was shaking. Someone gave their coat to put under her head since she was lying on the floor. I supported her head, took her hand, and started talking to her calmly. She was crying and trembling a lot.

I don’t even know what was going through my head. I was just so shocked that no one else had stepped in to help her more. While we were waiting for the ambulance, someone asked the bus driver to open the doors because they wanted to leave. A lot of people just got off. In the end, it was me and two other women who stayed with her and helped her. Although I have to say, one of them kept asking unnecessary questions. I know she meant well, but in that moment it felt like the opposite of helpful. The injured girl was so shaken that she couldn’t really talk. She was trembling so much. So I just told her to relax, to breathe, and that everything was going to be okay. I took a few deep breaths with her so she could calm down a bit, and I could see her body slowly relaxing. I gave her more water and reassured her. Meanwhile, the other woman kept asking things like, “Is this your backpack?” or “Is someone going to pick it up?” Nothing that really mattered in that moment. It just added more stress for the injured girl.

After a while, the police and the ambulance finally arrived. The bus driver spoke to them, along with some witnesses who had seen what happened. Apparently, a car had cut off the bus. There were three girls in it. At first, they stayed, but as soon as they saw the police, they ran away. The paramedics started taking care of the girl. I told her that if no one from her family could come in time, I could go with her to the hospital so she wouldn’t be alone. She thanked me. The other woman was still worried about the girl’s backpack and groceries. The injured girl kept looking at me every time the woman spoke, clearly overwhelmed. So I told the woman not to worry about the things, that we would figure it out later. The girl also handed me her phone so I could call her boyfriend. Unfortunately, I couldn’t understand him very well, so I passed the phone to the other woman, since she clearly didn’t mind talking.

When they were about to take her into the ambulance, she told me I didn’t have to come with her. I said it was no problem at all, but she insisted that it was okay. By then, she had calmed down a bit. And then her mom arrived, running, with her son. They had been on the bus earlier but had gotten off a few stops before the accident happened. They came running, crying, and that’s when it really hit me. I had to try so hard not to start crying myself. I don’t know why, but when I see someone who isn’t just crying but is really, deeply worried, it’s incredibly hard for me not to cry too. Especially seeing the little boy, maybe around four years old. He was crying a lot. I had to turn away for a moment and pull myself together. It was really hard. We tried to calm him down, telling him that his mom was okay, that nothing serious had happened, that they were just checking her and everything would be fine. But when he saw her in the ambulance, he started crying even harder. That’s when the bus driver sat down with him and spoke to him calmly. He told him that his mom was going to be okay, that he didn’t have to worry, that he was a strong and brave boy. And somehow, he really managed to calm him down completely. The injured girl’s mom later thanked him, probably because she was too overwhelmed herself to comfort the child.

Eventually, everything settled down. Another bus came to pick up the remaining passengers. I said I would walk home because I needed time to process everything. One of the women who had stayed with us said she would join me, so we walked together and talked about what had happened. She said she was also shaken and preferred walking to clear her head. We felt the same. It turned into a really nice conversation on our way.

Writing this down really helps me process everything, because this isn’t something that happens every day. And even though nothing truly serious happened, it’s a reminder that something can always happen. I can’t fully explain what I’m feeling. I just know that I feel shaken. Seeing the mother and her son running towards us, so worried, was especially hard for me. It took a lot to hold myself together. But it also showed me something important. You should never hesitate to help someone. For me, it was just holding her hand, breathing with her, and giving her water. But for her, it might have meant everything in that moment. That’s what I wanted to share with this story. If you ever see someone who is hurt or in need, please don’t look away. Don’t think it’s not your problem. And if you’re in a hurry or have somewhere to be, I can promise you, in that moment, it doesn’t matter. Nothing else matters. Even the woman who walked with me afterwards was on her way to work and already late, but she still stayed the entire time. I really don’t understand the people who just wanted to leave as quickly as possible. Someone was lying on the floor, hurt. Maybe take a moment to think about that instead of rushing off. I feel like some people are just waiting for someone else to step in, so they can feel okay about leaving. And that’s honestly really sad. I just hope there will always be people who choose to help. Because one day, it could be you or someone you love who needs that help. And you would hope that someone is there. Even the girl’s mother thanked us before we left, for staying with her daughter and helping her. So think about that. Think about your loved ones being in that situation. And think about whether you would want someone to be there for them.

*Featured Image AI-generated