Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune
The air was cooler still. Wallace shivered and wondered again why hewas shivering. He could make out Apollo’s tail down in the yard, but it tooktime for his eyes to adjust. He gasped quietly as Hugo flipped a switch nearthe door.Strings of light that hung above them burst to life. They stood on a backdeck of sorts. There were more tables on it, the chairs turned over and setatop them. The lights had been strung around the deck railing and the eavesoverhead. More plants were hanging down, bright flowers that had turned inon themselves against the night.“Here,” Hugo said. “Watch.” He went to the edge of the deck near a set ofstairs. He flipped another switch set against a wooden strut, and more lightsturned on below the deck, revealing dry, sandy soil and row after row of …“Tea plants,” Hugo said before Wallace could ask. “I try to grow as muchof my own as I can, only importing leaves that wouldn’t survive the climate.There’s nothing like a cup of tea from leaves that you’ve grown yourself.”Wallace watched as Apollo trotted up and down the rows of plants,stopping only briefly to sniff at the leaves. Wallace wondered if he couldactually smell anything. Wallace could, a deep and earthy scent, one whichgrounded him more than he expected.“I didn’t know they grew from the ground,” Wallace admitted.“Where did you think they came from?” Hugo asked, sounding amused.“I … never really thought about it, I guess. I don’t have time for suchthings.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how it sounded.Normally, he wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but these were strangedays. “Not that it’s a bad thing, but…”“Life gets away from you,” Hugo said simply.“Yeah,” Wallace muttered. “Something like that.” Then, “Why tea?”He followed Hugo down the stairs. The plants were tall, the biggest andmost mature rising to Wallace’s waist. In passing, almost at the back of hismind, he noticed the cable stretched tight between himself and Hugo.He stopped when Hugo crouched down, reaching out to touch the leavesof one of the tallest plants. The leaves themselves were small and flat andgreen. He touched one briefly, his fingers trailing along the tip. “Guess howold this plant is.”“I don’t know.” He looked around at the other plants. “Six months? Ayear?”
Hugo chuckled. “A little older than that. This one was one of my first. It’sten years old next week.”Wallace blinked. “Come again?”“Growing tea isn’t for everyone,” Hugo said. “Most tea plants don’tmature until around three or four years. You can harvest the leaves beforethen, but something’s missing from the flavor and scent. You have to put in thetime and have patience. Too early, and you risk killing the plant and having tostart all over again.”“Is this one of those times where we’re talking about one thing, but youmean something else entirely?”Hugo shrugged. “I’m talking about tea plants, Wallace. Something on yourmind?”Wallace wasn’t sure he believed him. “I have many things on my mind.”Hugo said, “In the fall, some of the plants flower, these little things with ayellow center and white petals. The smell is indescribable. It mingles withthe scent of forest, and there’s nothing like it in all the world. It’s my favoritetime of year. What’s yours?”“Why do you care?”“It’s just a question, Wallace.”Wallace stared at him.Hugo let it go. “Sometimes, I talk to the plants. It sounds weird, I know,but studies have been done showing plants respond to encouragement. It’s notconclusive, and it’s not necessarily the wording as much as it is thevibrations of the voice. I’m thinking of setting up speakers sometime soon, toplay music for the plants to hear. Have you ever talked to a plant?”“No,” he said, distracted by the rows of green, the dark soil holding themin place. They were planted with about four or five feet between them, theleaves glossy in the starlight, and pungent, so much so that it caused Wallaceto wrinkle his nose. It wasn’t a bad smell (quite the contrary, in fact), justoverwhelming. “That’s stupid.”Hugo smiled. “A little bit. But I do it anyway. What could it hurt, right?”He looked back down at the plant before him. “You have to be careful whenyou harvest the leaves. If you’re too rough, you can end up killing the plant. Ittook me a long time to get it right. I can’t even begin to tell you how manyI’ve had to pull out and throw away because of my own haste.”“Plants are living things,” Wallace said.
- Page 23 and 24: to show some kind of emotion. He wo
- Page 25 and 26: He burst out laughing. Yes, he coul
- Page 27 and 28: She grinned. “Oh, man. Just you w
- Page 29 and 30: made it feel like so much more. It
- Page 31 and 32: He said, “I…” He didn’t kno
- Page 33 and 34: She wiped her eyes, still chuckling
- Page 35 and 36: “Oh. Yeah, no. I get it. Yes, thi
- Page 37 and 38: He blinked slowly, becoming aware o
- Page 39 and 40: They rounded a corner, and he could
- Page 41 and 42: He stared at her. “We’re seeing
- Page 43 and 44: CHAPTER4He expected the inside of t
- Page 45 and 46: The second time you share tea, you
- Page 47 and 48: was … calming? Or so close to it
- Page 49 and 50: know I don’t have time for this.
- Page 51 and 52: “And there’s … what?”Hugo d
- Page 53 and 54: questions. I’ll do my best to ans
- Page 55 and 56: “I’m dead,” Wallace said.Hugo
- Page 57 and 58: learned from her mother, a heavyset
- Page 59 and 60: “There aren’t.”“Which means
- Page 61 and 62: Hugo looked at him. “You’re a g
- Page 63 and 64: CHAPTER6The first obstacle was the
- Page 65 and 66: At least he tried to.It didn’t wo
- Page 67 and 68: terrible as the rest of him. All so
- Page 69 and 70: “Saw one, did you?”He whirled a
- Page 71 and 72: place you’ll ever be before you c
- Page 73: CHAPTER7Apollo seemed to know where
- Page 77 and 78: Hugo shook his head. “No, I’m n
- Page 79 and 80: “Hush,” Hugo said. “Don’t l
- Page 81 and 82: “But he’s here.”“He is,”
- Page 83 and 84: “You don’t need to sleep.”Wal
- Page 85 and 86: Wallace’s eyes bulged as he looke
- Page 87 and 88: “No.”“But you’re sitting on
- Page 89 and 90: Nelson nodded toward the sconces on
- Page 91 and 92: Wallace hadn’t even heard him app
- Page 93 and 94: “Do what?” Mei asked as she rea
- Page 95 and 96: The hook—always there, and he was
- Page 97 and 98: And strangely, he thought he could
- Page 99 and 100: moved around from table to table, t
- Page 101 and 102: him.” And then, under her breath,
- Page 103 and 104: woke up. He went to work. He stayed
- Page 105 and 106: CHAPTER9Charon’s Crossing stayed
- Page 107 and 108: Mei gasped. “They do? Oh my god,
- Page 109 and 110: “Obviously,” he said faintly.
- Page 111 and 112: that’s taboo.” She looked away.
- Page 113 and 114: “It’s like you, in a way,” sh
- Page 115 and 116: “Nope.”Wallace groaned. “Then
- Page 117 and 118: things. He had expensive clothes, a
- Page 119 and 120: Nelson grinned. “Fair.” He rubb
- Page 121 and 122: “It’s like that here,” Hugo s
- Page 123 and 124: “It was fast,” Hugo said, stari
The air was cooler still. Wallace shivered and wondered again why he
was shivering. He could make out Apollo’s tail down in the yard, but it took
time for his eyes to adjust. He gasped quietly as Hugo flipped a switch near
the door.
Strings of light that hung above them burst to life. They stood on a back
deck of sorts. There were more tables on it, the chairs turned over and set
atop them. The lights had been strung around the deck railing and the eaves
overhead. More plants were hanging down, bright flowers that had turned in
on themselves against the night.
“Here,” Hugo said. “Watch.” He went to the edge of the deck near a set of
stairs. He flipped another switch set against a wooden strut, and more lights
turned on below the deck, revealing dry, sandy soil and row after row of …
“Tea plants,” Hugo said before Wallace could ask. “I try to grow as much
of my own as I can, only importing leaves that wouldn’t survive the climate.
There’s nothing like a cup of tea from leaves that you’ve grown yourself.”
Wallace watched as Apollo trotted up and down the rows of plants,
stopping only briefly to sniff at the leaves. Wallace wondered if he could
actually smell anything. Wallace could, a deep and earthy scent, one which
grounded him more than he expected.
“I didn’t know they grew from the ground,” Wallace admitted.
“Where did you think they came from?” Hugo asked, sounding amused.
“I … never really thought about it, I guess. I don’t have time for such
things.” As soon as the words left his mouth, he realized how it sounded.
Normally, he wouldn’t have given it a second thought, but these were strange
days. “Not that it’s a bad thing, but…”
“Life gets away from you,” Hugo said simply.
“Yeah,” Wallace muttered. “Something like that.” Then, “Why tea?”
He followed Hugo down the stairs. The plants were tall, the biggest and
most mature rising to Wallace’s waist. In passing, almost at the back of his
mind, he noticed the cable stretched tight between himself and Hugo.
He stopped when Hugo crouched down, reaching out to touch the leaves
of one of the tallest plants. The leaves themselves were small and flat and
green. He touched one briefly, his fingers trailing along the tip. “Guess how
old this plant is.”
“I don’t know.” He looked around at the other plants. “Six months? A
year?”
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