Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

Mei closed the door. The latch clicked again, and there was a finality to it
that Wallace didn’t like. She said, “This is Hugo. The ferryman, the one I told
you about. He’s here to help you.” She gave the man a wide berth as she
walked toward Hugo. Her expression never faltered, and she didn’t look at
Wallace and Nelson. She stopped next to Hugo. She didn’t try to touch him.
The man stayed near the door.
Hugo said, “Hello.”
The man twitched. “Hello. I’ve heard things about you.” His voice was
lighter than Wallace thought it would be, though it carried a palpable
undercurrent of something darker, heavier.
“Have you?” Hugo asked lightly. “Nothing bad, I hope.”
The man shook his head slowly. “Oh, no. It was good.” He cocked his
head. “All of it was good. Too good, if I’m being honest.”
“Mei does talk me up,” Hugo said. “Tried to get her to break that habit,
but she doesn’t listen.”
“No, she doesn’t,” the man said, and there was the smile. The mask
stretched tighter, cheek bones sharp. It chilled Wallace. “At all. Do you
listen?”
“I try,” Hugo said, hands still clasped behind his back. “I know it’s
difficult. Learning what you’ve learned. Knowing how things are never going
to be the same. Coming here, to a place you’ve never been before with
people you don’t know. But I promise you that I’m here to help you as best I
can.”
“And if I don’t want your help?”
Hugo shrugged. “You will. And I don’t mean that flippantly. You’re on a
journey now, one unlike anything you’ve ever been on before. This is just a
stop on that journey.”
The man looked around again. “She said this was a tea shop.”
“It is.”
“Yours?”
“Yes.”
He jerked his head toward Nelson and Wallace. “They are?”
“My grandfather, Nelson. My friend Wallace.”
“Are they…” He closed his eyes briefly before opening them again. “Like
you? Or like me?”