Welcome to Wednesday One Shots, the series where we share a bonus story with you in the middle of the week.

Obviously, we're releasing this on a Thursday. We had a busy Wednesday.

Nonetheless, we have a story for you this week from a listener named Haley. Enjoy.

This story took place in 2022. I was a young mortician who had just started my dream job at a funeral

home. I was brand new, so I was still trying to impress my bosses and go the extra mile to show them

how much this job meant to me.

My coworker was working with a family where the next of kin was a very elderly woman.

She could no longer drive and had trouble getting around.

Trying to be kind, I told my coworker that I could drop off the cremated remains of this

woman's loved one at her house at the

end of the workday on my way home. I don't remember who the deceased was to this woman exactly,

but I believe it was her adult son, whom she had cared for to some capacity for his entire life.

So, I headed over to her place one day after work.

She lived on a busy street, so I had to pull around the back of the house.

When I headed to the front door, she was there to let me in.

Her house seemed like it was just a typical old lady's house.

She had old furniture, bookshelves, pictures on the wall, and plenty of knick-necks.

She also had a pretty old TV, which was on as she was watching Jeopardy.

We sat on the couch, and I had her sign the transfer of custody paperwork so that she could take the custody of the cremated remains.

Once we were finished with all of the paperwork, she asked me to stay and watch some jeopardy with her.

Feeling a bit sorry for her, I obliged.

That was when I looked around the house and started to notice some things that were a bit off-putting to me.

...