A Mere Second

A mere second is what it takes to take you from one thing to the other.

When I was in Alexandria, I woke up early to visit historic places there, but I walked by the sea first. I captured some pictures here and there.

Then I took the bus to the Roman amphitheater. I took some lovely pictures there as well, and things were cool, except that it was getting pretty hot.

Despite things were great, I felt stressed all along because of some issues I was dealing with. 

After I had finished with the Roman amphitheater, I went for a long walk to discover the city. Nothing was unusual, but the walk lasted for a few hours. I felt tired, but I knew it was from the heat. I walked and walked until I realized I was feeling sick, not just tired.  

I took the above-ground train, as it was the closest transportation I could find. I did not want to Uber all along on the tour.

I was not aware that it was that time of the day where public transportation gets busy. The train was getting stuffed with people with every station, and it was at least 13 stations to reach home. I thought to myself that I wouldn’t be able to handle how long the trip was.

The train became more and more crowded. The thing was, I was not thinking of the sickness I felt but of the current situation I am in and how much it was so COVID-friendly.

Few minutes passed by and I started to struggle for oxygen. I removed my mask and stuck to the train doors to breathe in some fresh air. All of this time I was saying to myself, I am good, I am good.

Then my mind started to lose it, my stomach was not getting enough oxygen, so I knelt down to help release pressure on my stomach, It blackened in front of my eyes, and I immediately stood up and then I saw a seat as the train was entering the station. I planned on my head to go and sit on it as fast as I could. 

As soon as the train stopped, I immediately got outside. I was not sure if I was going to make it; the seat was farther than I thought. Everything got black, and I almost lost control over my body. It was only a few meters, but it felt like a hundred kilometers; I told myself I won’t make it there, and before I lost my conscience, I found another seat right beside me. I did not see it right out of the hand. My eyes just landed on the far one.

I sat and released all the pressure from standing and walking. I did not know if I was going to feel better, but at least I did not fall in the street.

I had a big urge to vomit but I could not, also had an urge to go to the bathroom but I was in the middle of the city.

Few minutes passed by and I got better gradually. I took some deep breaths. After I had felt slightly better, I used that energy to get inside a taxi and go home.

I was not in the right state of mind to Uber, plus it would take time to request a car and more time for the captain to show up, so I went for the riskiest, but the quickest option.

Getting inside a taxi with this state was not the wisest decision because you don’t know what’s going to happen, but I trusted myself that I would be fine.

I stood up and got outside of the station, but I felt sick again. “A taxi better shows up immediately,” I told myself.

I found one, got inside in the quickest way possible. 

As the fresh air hit on my face, I contemplated my life while looking through the window.

“That was close,” I thought to myself.

Another accident happened days later after I had gone back to Cairo.

I went for a ride on my bicycle. The front tire needed some TLC, but it was not that bad. It could handle some more trips.

As I was driving and out of nowhere I hit the left-wing mirror of one car that was parking, I tried to avoid damaging it completely so I moved to the left but the bike lost its balance and went to the extreme left and that was when I got hit by a car.

The guy who hit me had a quick reaction. He pushed the brakes right away and then moved backward with his car and got outside to see if I was okay.

I then found the entire street coming up to me. One girl and literally all the people who were driving their cars after the car I was hit by came up and asked if I was alright.

I hide my gaze inside my hat, avoiding eye contact.

Are you alright? Do you need anything? Shall I get you some water?

As they were asking me these questions, I was doing the weirdest thing; I was adjusting the seat of my bike while responding with a smile on my face and with an empathetic voice, thank you, I am alright, thank you I am alright.

Then All people left, but the girl stayed. She did not want to leave until she made sure I was really alright, then she left, and then I continued my 10km as if nothing happened.

From these two experiences, I noticed few things:

• Stress is evil, it is truly is. It makes you turn into a ghost or a robot; it makes you lose connection with yourself, it over burdens you. I know we can’t avoid it, but we can handle and deal with it, but don’t let it overwhelm you.

• That mere second between life and death, the conscious and the unconscious feel as if you have been transformed into another dimension that does not exist. It felt like the first moment of death where you catch a glimpse of it. But not fully yet. It is not scary but feels like a different dimensional.

• God is always with us. He is in our veins, hearts, and minds. He always saves us and gives us the answer at the right time.
  
• Well, my bike can still run, but it needs some fixing, especially in the front tire. As it took the damage for me, it slightly became unbalanced with the back tire, so…
  
• Don’t forget your umbrella, or your hat, if the weather is so unbearable outside, and the sun has nowhere to point at except for your head.