The Welcoming Of The Owner

This one of my experienced happened during our food and beverage OJT (on job training) dated August 2012. I was assigned with my best friend, at the same time my college classmate, in one of the famous hotel in Zamboanga City. As a food and beverage Ass. Supervisor Sir RJ is assigned to give us an individual assignment, either in any function hall like Walk in, pavilion, gazebo and the convention. And I was assigned in Walk in Resto at pool side of the Hotel.

One bright afternoon I saw an old woman approaching the entrance of the walk-in Resto. Maybe she is in a mid-70, she looks like a Chinese, she has a very white skin (near to pale skin already) and she is alone. I walked towards her direction and the moment I'm near already I greeted her.

"Table for one ma'am?" I said with a sweet smile, and she simply nodded and smile at me. I assist her to the vacant single table near the garden site. The moment she settle down on her sit I offer her the menu.

"This our Menu of the day ma'am, may I take your order?" and she just pointed the dessert, the halo-halo (mix dessert).

"OK ma'am, nothing else?" I ask her when she didn't point anything already. And then she nodded and smile.

"I repeat your order ma'am, One large Halo-halo." With a sweet smile on my face and still she just nodded at me. Right away I went to the counter to ask the order. In some other reason I don't know why the people in the counter seems like they are not comfortable, or maybe disturb but I didn't pay much attention to them, all I want is to have my order right away so that my customer won't wait too long. Also my co waitress and waiters in that area are acting like strange for me that time the moment I pass to them to bring the order to my customer, and they seems so quite so unusual. But as what I've said I didn't mind them.

As I approaching to my task table I was shock and panic because my customer is no longer there. "God, She left already? What am I supposed to do? I don't have extra money to pay this." I simply walk away to cashier area to tell ma'am Joan (not her real name) the cashier personal that my guest left already, I was kind of nervous while walking to cashier area cause I know Joan is a strict person, she love yelling to waiters/waitress when they've done something wrong. But it left me wondering why that very moment Joan didn't yell at me.

"Ma'am Joan kasi po umalis na pala yung guest, paano tong order niya? Ako po ba ang magbabayad? (Ma'am Joan the guest already left, what I'm going to do with her order? Am I the one who's going to pay it?) " I ask her with a worried face.

"Walang problema Tin akong bahala (don't worry I'll handle it) " she said and I don't know what to say because of confusion. And I just simply said thank you. And then the time flies so fast. At exactly 9:30 in the evening we are fixing our things already because we are about to log out our time-sheet. I was about to punch my time-card when Sir Mark (not his real name) our Housekeeping supervisor called me.

"Tin? Favor naman oh akyat ka sa housekeeping area, pakikuha sa ilalim ng table ko yung 20 pcs of table napkin (tin kindly get the table napkin at housekeeping area, placed under my table.) "

"Sige po Sir (Yes Sir) " and then I went upstairs at the back of the hotel where the Housekeeping second floor located. When I'm at the table side already, was about to bend to reach the pack of table napkins when my sight went to the pictures placed on top of the table, it was inserted inside the plastic covers. It was old pictures, and there is one woman that captured my attention in the photos. She is exactly the old woman who ordered halo-halo this afternoon and vanished. I felt like I'm going to vomit because of nervousness I felt and I felt like I'm not breathing normally. And then I heard my supervisor at my back saying. "Ang tagal mo ah? (What took you so long?) " And I'm trembling pointing the old woman picture.

"Ah, siya ba? Siya yung may ari ng Hotel at paborito niyang dessert ay halo-halo, matagal nang patay yan (That woman? She is the owner of the hotel and halo-halo is her favorite dessert, she is dead long time ago)." And I collapsed after hearing it. When I gained my consciousness I was lying at the locker room with my coworkers surrounds me. My friend told me that Sir Mark catch me the moment I fainted. And everybody knows about it. Because they experience it also, every first day of their duty, it's like a Welcoming of the owner in this hotel.

I wasn't able to go to school or even to my duty because I got fever for one week right after that incident. I don't know if it's a good thing or not. But I don't want to be welcomed by someone's dead anymore.

Thank you for reading my story, God bless.