[Jaykobell]

She had received a text from her dad. "Bailey, honey, I need you at the home. We got a call for a pick-up. Come in asap, ok?"

It was already late that day, but after having been left in an extremely awkward position by a friend of hers, she was happy to have any sort of reason to leave. Plus, this was her job. Even if she hadn't been trying to leave a bad situation, she had to answer the call.

[Jaykobell]

She drove her car through town, passing under streetlights -- whatever ones still worked -- and listening to some music through her cell phone. Wireless technology sure was wonderful for all that. It was a luxury very few people had in this town.

After a little bit of a quiet drive, she arrived at the funeral home. There had been no traffic, fortunately. Of course, being a poor town, there was very rarely any traffic to begin with, even during rush hour.

[Jaykobell]

She made sure to lock the car and to hide any important belonging. Even the smallest things, like a nice-looking bag or an umbrella, could risk getting her car smashed and raided. It was...an interesting town to live in, that was for sure.

She made her way towards the entrance, and stepped inside the funeral home. A quiet place, as usual. Many found them sad, and unnerving, and depressing, a place constantly in connection with death.

[Jaykobell]

But part of her found it comforting. This sort of respect they gave death, and those who had passed on. It was a lot more than just dealing with crying families and touching dead bodies. There was a whole culture surrounding the job, and she felt honored to be working in the field.

She made her way to her dad's office. She knocked twice, and then waited for his vocal confirmation and invitation to come in.

[Jaykobell]

"Hi, dad," she greeted as she walked in and closed the door behind her. "I got your text, you want me to go pick up someone?"

"Ah, Bailey!" Her dad, a large crane, seemed pleased to see his daughter. "I knew you'd be here quick. Can always rely on you, kid."

"Happy to help," Bailey said simply, a short, but true statement. "Who died?"

Suddenly, her dad seemed a little hesitant. "Well, this one is a bit of a doozy..."

[Jaykobell]

She tilted her head curiously. "What do you mean?"

"Well," her dad began, "it's not someone from this town."

She seemed confused still. "Okay. I mean, that's happened before, we've collected a lot of people from other towns nearby."

"Oh, yes, we have," her dad agreed, "but this one... Well, the person who died is an old priest who was practicing all the way at the Nu'san Temple."

Bailey blinked slowly, very slowly, as she processed the information.

[Jaykobell]

And her confusion did not go unnoticed by her father. "You have no idea where or what that is, right?"

She was a little bit embarrassed to admit it. "No," she admitted quietly. "I mean, it kinda rings a bell, but not really?" There were a lot of temples all around the region, so she was positive that she had heard or seen the name of that one temple somewhere, but she couldn't place it right at that moment.

[Jaykobell]

"It's a very old and loved temple," her dad explained. "Many priests and monks and other religious devotees give their lives to practice there. One of the oldest in the region, or even the world, I'd reckon."

"Oh, wow." Bailey herself wasn't all that big on religion, but she did appreciate it for the death rituals and rites all religions had. A lot of people celebrated life, but very few respected and celebrated death. Not that she could blame them, though.

[Jaykobell]

"So that's where you need me to go?" Bailey asked. "It's different, I like it. Where's the temple?"

Her dad seemed pleased at her enthusiasm and willingness to do something different. "Knew you'd be up for it," he said happily. "But don't be too excited. The temple isn't close." He pulled out a map on his cell phone, and put the location of the temple in the device, and then asked for it to calculate the travel time from the funeral home to the temple.

[Jaykobell]

Bailey stared in silence as her dad showed her the map. Her enthusiasm had been a little bit shaken, she had to admit. "Five hours?" she said quietly after a few seconds of stunned silence. "It's a five-hour drive?"

Her dad smiled sheepishly at her reaction. "Yep," he confirmed, a little bit to Bailey's dismay. "Not close at all."

She tilted her head. "I'm confused. Why would they ask us to pick up the body if they're so far away?"

[Jaykobell]

"I think the priest who died is from this town," her dad explained as he pulled the phone back towards him. "I asked the same thing, apparently he insisted that he wanted to be buried here."

Bailey could respect that. She found it interesting, considering how poor and slimy this town really was, but she had no right to question that dead priest and his reasoning for wanting to be buried in his hometown. All she could do was respect his last wishes.

[Jaykobell]

"You can say no, you know," her dad piped up after a few moments. "Five hours is a long drive. I won't blame you if you're not up for it."

Bailey shook her head. "I don't mind the drive. It's far, but I can make it work. I can be back in about two days." If she drove all the way there, she could make a few stops along the way. That way, she could travel to in one day, and return in one day.

[Jaykobell]

Her dad beamed. "Won't dock your pay if you come back in three," he teased lightly.

Bailey smiled. "Okay, so I'll be back in four," she teased back.

Her dad chuckled. "Okay, don't get too sassy, though." He looked down and shuffled in one of the drawers at his desk. After a little bit of time, he pulled out a file.

"Here you go, this is our man," he said as he pushed the file towards the edge of the desk, towards Bailey.

[Jaykobell]

Bailey took the file and looked inside. An old man, a very old man, had his photo in the file. All his basic information was listed as well; his date of birth, his day and time of death, his profession, his name, his parents.

Everything was standard, and Bailey loved this part of the job. To read all this information, almost like reading a book. It was surprising how much information one could learn about the deceased just from this summary.

[Jaykobell]

"The address of the temple is in the file," her dad said.

After a few moments, he added, "I wouldn't usually send two people for a pick-up," he started quietly, "but since it's so far away, do you want someone from the home to go with you? You can switch drivers."

Bailey gave it some thought. "I don't think it's necessary, I should be fine on my own."

She saw the little glint of worry in her father's eyes.