Up To Your Ears In Thoughtfulness

I used to date an autistic girl, and we were having a fairly good time together. To test our live-together resolve, we went on holiday around Northern Italy.

The first few days around the smaller cities were fine, but when we got to Milan and had to use the metro after a long day of walking, things went downhill fast. The crowds, noises, smell, and tiredness compounded together and made her start having a meltdown while on the train, and with nowhere quieter and calmer to take her, both of us were stuck on that noisy train.

Suddenly, I noticed a guy wearing big headphones gesturing at me as he dramatically removed them, and I looked at him.

Guy: “Hey, does she need any help? Anything I can do?”

Me: “I wish there was something to be done here — she’s tired and the noise bothers her — but, y’know, we’re here and still have four stops to go.”

Guy: “Would giving her my headphones help? They’re noise-cancelling.”

Me: “Uh… are you sure?”

Guy: *Dismissive* “I’m going to the end of the line, and I was just listening to music, anyway. I’ll live.”

I reluctantly accepted his offer, taking his headphones and giving them to my girlfriend. She put them on, and soon enough, she calmed down enough to sit down on a seat and not on the floor, and she got off the train more cheerily than she had boarded. I quickly thanked the guy and then left.

We eventually broke up, but I will never forget the time a random stranger offered to lend away his headphones to soothe a distressed young woman.