Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

but it’s always the same.” He hesitated. “I could tell you what it’s like, what
I’ve seen. The look on their faces the moment the door opens, the moment
they hear the sounds coming from the other side. But I don’t know that I can
do it justice, because no matter what I say, it barely begins to scratch the
surface. It changes you, Wallace, changes you in ways you don’t expect. At
least it did me. Call it faith, call it proof, whatever you like. But I know that
I’m doing that right thing because I’ve seen the looks on their faces, filled
with awe and wonder. I may not be able to hear what they hear, but I choose
to believe it’s everything they could’ve wanted.”
“It doesn’t bother you that you can’t hear it?”
Hugo shook his head. “I’ll find out one day. And until then, I’ll do what
I’m here for, preparing you to find out for yourself.”
Wallace wished he could believe him. But the very thought of the door he
had yet to lay eyes on terrified him. It made his skin crawl, and he deflected
in the only way he knew how. “How did you become a ferryman?”
“Oof,” Hugo said, though Wallace thought he wasn’t fooled. “Just going
for it, huh?”
“Might as well.”
“Might as well,” Hugo echoed. “It was by accident, if you can believe
that.”
He couldn’t. At all. “You accidentally became the person who helps
ghosts cross to … wherever.”
“Well, when you say it like that, I can see how it could sound ridiculous.”
“That’s how you said it!”
Hugo looked at him. Wallace forced himself not to turn away. It was
easier than he expected. “My parents died.”
“I’m sorry,” Wallace said, cognizant of the fact that apologies seemed to
come easier now.
Hugo waved him away. “Thanks, but you don’t need to apologize for it.”
“It’s what you’re supposed to say.”
“It is, isn’t it? I wonder why. Did you mean it?”
“I … think so?”
Hugo nodded. “Good enough. Still lived at home. I grew up a few miles
away from here. You probably passed by the house on your little adventure
last night.”
He wasn’t sure if he should apologize again or not, so he kept quiet.