The first sign that something was different, was when the sheet rock in the dining room started to bow inwards. We figured that this was just left over damage from the earthquake and, as good company owners, we contacted a contractor to check the damage behind the wall and fix it. The wall, however, had no visible damage behind it. The insulation was just as it should have been, and not filled with water or anything else that would make it expand. Behind that, the brick outer walls were as solid as they always have been. Still, the contractor suggested that we cut out the part of the wall that was bowed, cut out the insulation, and redo that section. After a clean rectangular cut that went from ceiling to floor, and was about as wide as if we were putting in a new door. However, the next day was Monday and we needed to be open.

Tacking a large piece of plastic over the hole, and moving the tables away from the area and put up a caution sign. Monday morning, my parents came into the restaurant, lit up the kitchen area, and started to prep for the day. Then they heard it: the sound of plastic being banged and scratched against. The sound was of something that human sized. Lighting the dining room lights, they saw what was causing the sound: there was a humanoid behind the plastic, between it and the brick wall.

Confused and scared, my father took a large butcher knife in hand and went to the dining room.

"WHO ARE YOU?" He called through the plastic, as loud as he could to counter act the muffling of  the plastic. However the response he received wasn't in English. 

"Manke na amin?!" the masculine voice called, over and over "Manke na amin?! Amin n'e! Manke na amin?! Amin n'e!"

By this point I had arrived to help with the opening of the store. I was as confused by our visitor as my parents, but less afraid. Using a pry bar, I released the large staples that held the plastic to the wall, releasing the man from the hole.

"How did you get in there?" I asked, not exactly expecting a response. 

"Sina il amin ndor." he said, eyes open as he looked around the room, head canting from one side to the other.

I had read plenty of books and, as I looked at the man and the clothing that he wore, I realized something: he was an elf. He had pointed ears and long silvery blonde hair. His clothing was made up of earth tones and there was even a bow over his shoulder, along with a quiver. I racked my brain for what to say, thinking of every book that I had ever read with elves in them. The only thing that came to me was elvish for friend: "Mellon."

Apparently what I said was the right language, as the male started babbling quickly in the elven language and motioning expressively around the room and at the tables. He was clearly confused as to where he was and how he got there. 

I could only hope that the universal comfort of our world was the same as in other worlds: food. 

Quickly I went to the kitchen and pulled out one of our chocolate pies, cutting a rather large piece and putting it on a plate with a fork. Surely a culture so advanced as the elves (were they advanced?) would know what a fork was and how to eat. Just to be safe, I cut myself a small piece to show him what to do. 

Carrying the two plates to the dining room, I set the larger piece in front of him. Motioning in the best charades I could, I took a bite and motioned for him to. It took a few tries, but finally I got him to eat a piece of the pie. His eyes rolled back as he tasted the chocolate for the first time. He slowly lowered himself to the chair and continued eating, occasionally making happy yummy sounds and mumbling something in elvish that I didn't understand.

Happy with the chocolate pie, I pulled my parents aside, explaining that somehow we had an elf in our dining room who had appeared in the opening of the wall. I told them that I didn't understand him aside from a few words here or there that I had read in stories over the years, but I didn't think that he was a danger. 

"I think he was just scared." I explained, "I would be too if I found myself in a new world in a space the size of a coffin!"

The elf had finished his food and stood, bowing to my parents, then myself before going back to the hole in the wall. He looked over the area and seemed to be trying to figure out how to get home, however as soon as he stepped into the open spot, he was gone. One minute he was there then the next moment, there was nothing there. There wasn't a flash or smoke or anything. He was just gone. A moment later, he was back, laughing. Apparently he figured it out. 

He was gone again. Then back. Back and forth through the portal of sorts. He laughed each time he appeared, as if the concept of traveling through the doorway was something that was the happiest thing he had ever come across.  Then, the last time he showed up, another elf followed quickly there after.