Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

Hugo said, “Part of them lingers because they burn so brightly in such a
short amount of time. While I slept, Lea thought of her mother. And it
somehow manifested itself to Nancy. She was hundreds of miles away.” His
words took on a bitter twist. “I don’t know quite how she found us. But she
came here, to this place, demanding that we give her back her daughter.” He
looked stricken when he added, “She called the cops.”
“Oh no.”
Hugo sounded like he was choking. “They found nothing, of course. And
when they learned what had happened to her daughter, they thought she
was … well. That she’d just snapped. And who could blame her for that?
None of them knew that Lea was right there, that she was shouting for her
mother, that she was screaming. Lights shattered. Teacups broke. She said
she wanted to go home. I tried to stop him. The Reaper. I tried to stop him
when he grabbed her by the hand. I tried to stop him when he dragged her up
the stairs. I tried to stop him as he forced her through the door. She didn’t
want to go. She was begging. ‘Please don’t make me disappear.’”
Wallace’s skin turned to ice.
“The Reaper made her cross,” Hugo said, his bitterness a palpable thing.
“The door slammed shut before I could get to her. And when I tried to open it
again, it wouldn’t budge. It’d served its purpose, and there was no reason for
it to open again. And oh, Wallace, I was so angry. The Reaper told me it was
the right thing to do, that if we’d let it go on, then we ran the risk of only
hurting both of them more. And more than that, it was what the Manager
would want, what he told us we had to do. But I didn’t believe him. How
could I? We aren’t supposed to force someone before they’re ready. That’s
not our job. We’re here to make sure they see that life isn’t always about
living. There are many parts to it, and it continues on, even after death. It’s
beautiful, even when it hurts. Lea would’ve gotten there, I think. She would
have understood.”
“What happened to him?” Wallace asked dully. “The Reaper.”
Hugo’s face hardened. “He screwed up. He’d never had the temperament I
thought a Reaper needed, but what the hell did I know?” He shook his head.
“He said that it was the only thing that could be done, and that in the end, I’d
see that. But it only made me angrier. And then the Manager came.”
Wallace could see the bigger picture, slowly forming in front of him.
“What is he?”