I spotted a man with an injured leg on the street and offered to call an ambulance, but he asked for my phone and made a strange call.
I was rushing to work, as usual, running late. The street was windy, and the pavement was still wet from the night’s rain. Crossing the road, I suddenly noticed a man near the sidewalks edge. He looked about forty, leaning against a wall, breathing heavily. His pants were torn at the knee, and his leg was bleeding.
Pedestrians walked past as if they didnt see himsome chatting on their phones, others eating on the go, even glancing away. But I couldnt ignore him. Something in his gaze made me stop.
“Are you okay? Did you fall?” I bent toward him.
He gave a weak nod and tried to straighten up but winced in pain.
“Let me call an ambulance,” I said, pulling out my phone.
“No, dont,” he rasped, voice tired. “Please, dont call. Ill manage.”
“Are you sure? Youre bleeding, you cant walk…” I frowned. “Why dont you want to go to the hospital?”
He looked away briefly, as if weighing his thoughts.
“Can I just call a friend? My phones dead. One callthats all.”
Hesitating, I handed him my phone. He dialed quickly, as if recalling the number by heart, and stepped aside to murmur:
“Hey. Its me. Can you…? Yeah. Urgent.”
After whispering something else, he returned the phone with a faint smile.
“Thank you. Youre very kind.”
I nodded and hurried off, an odd unease settling in my chest. Maybe because it all felt… too mysterious.
But then something unexpected happened.
A few days later, Id nearly forgotten the encounter when an unknown number called.
“Hello. We met on the streetyou lent me your phone.”
I froze for a second.
“Yeah… I remember. Everything alright?”
“Because of youyes. Youve no idea how much you helped me. Without your phone, things couldve gone badly. Thank you. If you ever need helpcall me. I owe you.”
“Did you go to the hospital?”
“No. But… lets just say I handled It. Youre one of the few who didnt walk away.”
He didnt elaborate, and I didnt push. Strangely, warmth filled my chest. Sometimes, just lending a phone… changes someones life.
