It’s strange when someone you see every day suddenly stops showing up.

What would you do if a regular customer who always brightened your day started coming in less and less, until one day they revealed heartbreaking news?

Would you just shrug it off? Or would you genuinely be sad for them?

In the following story, one deli worker recounts a story about a regular customer who fell ill.

Here’s the full scoop.

A nice old man stopped coming to my deli

So I work at the deli in the grocery store down the road from me, and I have for about 2 years now. I’m a 20-year-old (proud) father and usually enjoy my work to support my son and girlfriend.

The work is OK, and I love my coworkers. We get a lot of regulars, people that you see coming, and can start their orders before they approach the counter.

I remember sometime last year, an older man would come in every day and get ham, turkey, and yellow American. Every day.

He was a pleasant old man and had great stories he would tell while I was waiting on him. I showed him pictures of my family, and we had genuine conversations.

One day, he noticed something was wrong with the man.

Last November, he came in one day, and he looked so down and scared. I asked him what was wrong, and received no response, not even eye contact.

I did his order, and he left without a word. I knew something was wrong, and although I didn’t even know this man’s name, I was worried.

Fast forward about a week of him not coming in, and I KNOW something is up.

Suddenly, he changed his order.

So finally he comes in, like nothing ever happened. I asked if everything was OK, and he said just some minor pains.

I started his order and he said “Actually, can we do low sodium ham, turkey, and yellow from now on?”

Not thinking anything of it, I just smiled and said, “Sure.”

This would become his regular. He began coming in less and less, almost sporadically.

His doctors had given him bad news.

I remember early October, he said he had some news for me, and he was sorry for being a downer. I told him not to sweat it, and I understand.

He looked at me, eyes glossy, and said, “They found a tumor.”

My heart ******* broke. He left without giving me a chance to reply, but on his way out, he turned to me and said, “You’re a good kid.”

And I never saw him again.

Wow! What a sad story.

Let’s see what the readers over at Reddit have to say about it.

Here’s someone who notices regulars disappear.

Yet another sad story.

For this reader, he should rest easy knowing the man confided in him.

These are nice words.

Hopefully, the man recovered.

Maybe he stopped coming in because he moved to be near family. We can only hope.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.