Kindness of a stranger

It was raining cats and dogs. The rain was pouring down heavily, the road was slippery and the windscreen blurry. Yet he could not contain his excitement- he was going home! He couldn't wait to hold his beautiful daughter and his beloved wife who he'd last seen many weeks ago, before he had an overseas assignment. Living apart from family had a lot of disadvantages – and he could not agree more on that Ramadhan evening as he left the office earlier than usual, wary of the four-hour-long trip from KL to Penang.

He made a quick stop at Tapah R&R area to perform his Asar prayer. All he could think of was to quickly get back to his loving family; having dinner with them, spending quality time together during the weekend. Despite the rain, he hit 90km/h, sometimes even 100km/h, feeling confident that the speed was safe enough.

Then, the unthinkable happened.

The car skidded. It hit the roadside - cemented rock to hold the hills steady along the highway - with a loud bang. The car rolled over. Then again and again and again. It turned over not once, not twice, but five times. It finally landed upside down in a large drain on the road side with a dull thud.

Had it not been for the drain, the car roof could have been flattened on the road.

He was stunned. He prayed feverously, said his istighfar repeatedly, uttered the syahadah continuously. He felt incredibly cold, almost certain that he would die...

After what seemed to be ages but was actually only a few seconds, the car stopped rolling. He opened his eyes slowly. He found himself hanging upside down in the drain, the seat belt keeping him intact to the driver's seat. He himself felt awfully drained, lacking strength. Nevertheless, he gathered all the stamina that he still possessed, and crawled out slowly through the shattered window - and then help arrived.

Mr Suthaka, a journalist who was driving behind him witnessed everything that took place. Suthaka stopped quickly and rushed to help the vulnerable man as he crawled out of the car. The man was shaking uncontrollably. Suthaka pulled him out of the car, dragged him further from the drain and hugged him quietly. He supported the weak stranger in the only way he could - hugging him tightly under the heavy rain, lending him the strength that he needed, the comfort that he seeked.

The Proton Wira was wrecked beyond repair. It was so badly damaged that later the insurance company labelled it under total loss. The shock of what had happened shook the humbled guy to the core – he had an almost death experience.

Most of the things that took place afterwards seemed almost like a dream. There was loads of things needed to be done - and he did them all in a daze.

And through it all - the tedious process of lodging a police report, the hustle of getting a tow truck – Suthaka waited calmly by his side. And Suthaka’s kind wife stood by him patiently. Even their two-month old baby seemed to understand the stranger’s ordeal and tolerated the delay.

When it was all over & done with, Suthaka offered him a ride back home to Penang. After all, he reassured the stranger, they were heading the same way. The weak-but slowly-recovering man gratefully accepted the offer. He made a call to his family earlier telling them of the accident – and finally was gladly greeted by his worried family as Suthaka’s car stopped in front of his house.

He went to the district hospital first thing the next morning. He got a full check-up, including x-ray and brain scan. Warded for observation for one day, he was discharged the following day when the doctor certified that everything was functioning well with an exception of a minor bump on his head.

As he left the hospital, he became more aware than ever that he'd been given a second chance in life – to appreciate his family more. And to pass on some kindness to a stranger when the opportunity comes someday…