3:00 customer

 My name is Suresh. I run a 24-hour tea shop on the Trichy highway near Palladam. At night, the shop is only for lorry drivers. Same faces, same tea. For the last 14 days, one man has been coming exactly at 3:00 AM. Same dress. Grey shirt, lungi, barefoot. He never speaks. He puts 10 rupees on the table, drinks his tea, and leaves a small piece of paper under the glass. The first day, the paper had one line: `DAY 1` I thought he was a bit mad. Second day: `DAY 2` Third day: `DAY 3` It continued. Every day. On Day 12, I decided to follow him. I kept a boy at the shop and walked behind him. The highway was foggy. He walked straight into the sugarcane field on the side. I followed. After 100 meters, he just... disappeared. No sound, no trace. The field was empty. I ran back to the shop, scared. On Day 13, he came again. Same 3:00 AM. Same tea. This time the paper said: `DAY 13 - YOU FOLLOWED ME` My tea glass fell. I shouted, "Who are you?!" He looked at me for the first time, smiled, and said his first words: "Tomorrow, you will understand." On Day 14, he did not come at 3:00 AM. I waited till 3:30, 4:00. No one. At 4:15 AM, a police jeep stopped at my shop. "Anna, one tea." While I was making tea, one constable asked, "Did you see a man? Grey shirt, lungi, barefoot?" I said, "Yes! He comes daily at 3 AM! Who is he?" The constable said, "He had an accident here 14 days ago. A lorry hit him right in front of your shop at 3 AM. He died on the spot. For 14 days, his body was in the government hospital mortuary, unclaimed. Today we identified him. We took his body to his village for burial at 2 AM today. So he will not come anymore." He showed me a photo on his phone. Same man. I could not breathe. Then I remembered the papers. I ran inside and opened my money drawer where I kept all 13 papers. I counted them. There were 14 papers. The 14th one was new. It was not there before. Under the tea glass, fresh. It said: `DAY 14 - I PAID FOR TODAY'S TEA YESTERDAY. THANK YOU.` And under it, 10 rupees. I never opened my shop after 2 AM after that day. *- END -* ---