When I was 16, I worked at a small restaurant in town answering phones and taking orders. The restaurant served generic American food such as burgers, wings, and pizza. On Sundays during football season, we were super busy with wing orders. However, this one particular Sunday was very slow – almost deathly slow. There was nothing for me to do except sit on my phone because all the work was finished.
In the restaurant, there was one main door for the front entrance and two back doors for the kitchen and office. I was sitting at the front of the restaurant while my boss was in the back office. The cook was outside, probably on the phone, and our delivery guy was in the front dining room. All of a sudden, during my shift, I heard someone in the kitchen saying “Hello? Hello?” The voice was unfamiliar and didn’t sound like any of the staff.
Curiosity got the better of me, so I got up and walked to the kitchen. There, I saw the back of a tall older gentleman wearing a trench coat and hat. I only saw him from behind and didn’t interact with him because, as a 16-year-old, I felt uncomfortable speaking to an unknown man inside the restaurant. I immediately went to tell my boss that there was someone in the kitchen, but I wasn’t sure who it was. My boss wasn’t expecting any deliveries or friends to stop by that day (it was Sunday), so he grabbed a pan for defense and we walked over to the kitchen.
To our surprise, there was no one there. Confused, I walked to the back door in the kitchen and found that it was locked from the inside. I then ran outside to ask the cook if he saw anyone, but he answered that he didn’t see anyone. Finally, I rushed to the front to ask our delivery guy if he saw anyone, and he also answered no. There was no way for this man to walk outside of the restaurant without anyone noticing.
The whole staff thought I was crazy, but I know what I saw. A tall, almost 6’5″ gentleman in a trench coat and hat, who was crying out “Hello?” It remains a mystery to this day.