Man spotted a young girl crying on the train — he made two hand gestures silently and it left her smiling

Feeling upset while being alone in a public place might not be a pleasant feeling. But a girl who was crying while she was traveling alone on the tube found a "guardian angel" in a man who asked about her well-being in the most non-invasive way. No words were exchanged between the two strangers, but they still had a full-blown conversation before the man got off. He was able to check in on her and hoped she felt a little bit better, according to a post by the man, Feyishayo Bakare, who goes by @feybakare1 on TikTok.

"I was on the tube once and there was a young girl standing in front of me who was crying and clearly really upset," Bakare recounted. He wanted to make sure that the girl was okay, but didn't want to approach her in case he frightened her. The man revealed that he could be a little intimidating because of his height. So he slowly dropped his head to get in her line of sight and catch her attention. He showed her a thumbs-up and thumbs-down gesture to ask her if she was okay. "She nodded back at me and gave a thumbs-up in response," the man remembered. "So, I nodded back, smiled at her and gave her a thumbs-up." The girl smiled and wiped her tears, as if to say she was going to be okay.

Bakare had to get down at the next stop, so he smiled and stretched out his hand to give the girl a fist bump. "My job was done," the man expressed. "The reason I am sharing this is not because I think I solved her problems, but because I think it's amazing how we humans have the ability to have full-blown conversations without uttering a word." He added, "I find it so beautiful. Neither of us said a word, but we completely understood each other." Bakare hoped that the interaction helped the girl feel a little bit better. He was glad that he decided to try and help her in that moment. "It's not nice to be upset and alone in any situation."

The girl, Alessia De Stefano, managed to find the post somehow. So, she commented from her TikTok account, @l3x1ds, "I think it was me...Victoria line? You were my guardian angel that day!" She told Newsweek, "If you've ever had your heart handed back to you in pieces, you know the kind of night I was having." She went on, "I kept my eyes on the floor. But then I noticed him trying to catch my eye by lowering himself into my line of vision." Then she explained what Bakare did and highlighted, "It was such a small thing, but it meant so much. It was a reminder that you're not always invisible, especially in a city like London."

People shared their thoughts on the incident in the comments section of the post. @shahlalalalala wrote, "I was crying at St James Park 4 years ago. I'd leave home to cry at a park because things were too overwhelming at home. A young man handed me a pack of tissues and walked away. I think of him daily." @katyjomcjo commented, "As a person who used to cry a lot in public due to depression, I would have really appreciated this. It sounds like you did exactly the right thing to provide her comfort." @chicmuseecgeeq remarked, "Cried a lot on tubes. Thank you for your kindness."

You can watch the video here. 

You can follow Feyishayo Bakare (@feybakare1) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.