The Mystery Lunch

Omar worked in a small office on the third floor. He was always busy, and he never had a proper lunch. Every day at one o’clock he ate a dry biscuit at his desk without taking his eyes off the screen.

On Monday there was a green box on his desk. A note said, “Please eat this at one o’clock.” Inside there was warm soup and fresh bread. Omar looked round the office, but nobody seemed to be watching him, and he could not imagine who had left it.

He was hungry, so he ate the soup, and it was delicious. On Tuesday there was a new box with rice and chicken. This time the note said, “Sit down. Do not work.” For once he obeyed, and he realised that he had not sat still for lunch in months.

On Wednesday Omar decided to find the cook. He asked his boss, and he asked Dana at reception. “I’ve no idea,” they both said. But Dana smiled a little as she answered, and Omar noticed that she looked away.

On Thursday he went to the kitchen at noon. Mrs Ray, the cleaner, was standing there with a green box in her hands. “You never eat,” she said. “Now you can say thank you.” Omar laughed. “Thank you!” On Friday a new note was waiting: “Today, we eat together.”