The Security Camera

I thought someone was stealing food from my restaurant.

Every night something disappeared from the kitchen.

Bread.

Soup.

Sometimes entire meals.

At first I blamed my staff.

But they all swore they had nothing to do with it.

So one night I checked the security camera.

At 2:13 a.m.

The back door slowly opened.

Someone stepped inside.

My first reaction was anger.

But when I zoomed in on the camera…

My stomach dropped.

It wasn’t a thief.

It was a small boy.

Maybe eight years old.

He walked carefully into the kitchen.

Looked around nervously.

Then he grabbed a loaf of bread.

Before leaving…

He did something that made me freeze.

He placed something on the counter.

Continue reading in comments because what the boy left behind shocked me.

The next morning I checked the kitchen.

On the counter…

There were three coins.

And a small piece of paper.

Written in messy handwriting.

“Sorry. My little sister is hungry.”

My chest tightened.

That night I waited in the kitchen with the lights off.

At exactly 2:13 a.m.

The door opened again.

The boy walked in slowly.

But this time he stopped when he saw me.

He looked terrified.

“I’m sorry,” he said quickly.

“I’ll put it back.”

Instead, I walked to the fridge.

Packed a bag full of food.

And handed it to him.

“Next time,” I told him gently.

“You don’t have to steal.”

“Just knock.”