Christmas was meant to be a time of love and remembrance, especially since it was our first without Mom. But my sister-in-law, Lindsey, shattered that when she heartlessly threw away my mother’s ashes—only for karma to strike back in the most unexpected way.
A week before Christmas, my brother Ryan and Lindsey showed up at my door. Their heating system had broken down, and they needed a place to stay. My husband, Nathan, and I welcomed them in, unaware of the chaos Lindsey would bring.
At first, it was small things—hogging our master bathroom, leaving a mess, and even sneaking my sweaters into her suitcase. Annoying, but manageable. But on Christmas Eve morning, I noticed something far worse—the black marble urn holding Mom’s ashes was missing from the mantel.
“Has anyone seen Mom?” I asked, my voice unsteady.
Lindsey barely looked up. “Oh, that? I threw it out in the backyard. That thing freaked me out.”
Time froze. My heart pounded. “You did WHAT?”
Lindsey rolled her eyes. “Relax, it’s just ashes.”
Fury overtook me. I stormed outside, hoping to recover Mom’s remains, but it was too late. She was gone. That night, I lay awake, seething. I wanted Lindsey out, but Ryan begged me to wait until after Christmas.
Then, at midnight, a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the house. Nathan and I bolted upstairs, greeted by a rancid stench. The en-suite bathroom in their room had flooded—sewage oozing onto the carpet, soaking Lindsey’s clothes (and some of mine she had taken).
“It’s everywhere! Do something!” she shrieked.
Nathan and I exchanged glances. Every other bathroom in the house was fine—only theirs was a disaster. “Looks like the toilet backed up,” Nathan said, barely suppressing a grin.
I smirked. “Maybe this is karma. Mom did have a wicked sense of humor.”
Lindsey shot me a murderous glare, but there was nothing she could do. The plumber wouldn’t arrive until the day after Christmas, leaving her to stew in misery.
At dinner the next day, she was uncharacteristically quiet. When she tried complaining, my family shut her down instantly. “You threw away their mother’s ashes?” my aunt gasped. “What were you thinking?!”
By the night’s end, Lindsey was humiliated. As Nathan and I cleaned up, he grinned. “You think Mom was with us today?”
I smiled. “I really hope so.”
Mom may not have been with us in the way we’d planned, but in that moment, I felt her presence stronger than ever.
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