Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

green door at the end. He walked through the door, tail wagging before it
disappeared.
“Hugo’s room,” Nelson said.
Wallace knew that already, though he hadn’t been inside. At the other end
of the hall was Mei’s room, the white door also closed, a sign hanging
crooked on it that read: REMEMBER TO MAKE IT A GREAT DAY. The first day
when he’d gone there and woken her up was the only time he’d been to the
second floor.
He thought about going back downstairs, waiting for the alarm clocks to
go off and another day to start.
He turned …
… and went up the stairs to the third floor.
The hook in his chest vibrated as he climbed each step. It felt almost hot,
and if he focused hard enough, he thought he could hear whispers coming
from the air around him.
He understood, then, that it wasn’t from Hugo like he’d first thought. Not
just from Hugo, at least. Oh, Wallace was sure Hugo was part of it, as were
Mei and Nelson and Apollo and this strange house. But there was more to it,
something much grander than he expected. The air around him filled with
whispers, almost like a song he couldn’t quite make out. It was calling for
him, urging him upward. He blinked rapidly against the sting in his eyes,
wondering if Lea had been able to hear any of this as she was pulled toward
the door, fighting against the strong grip around her wrist.
He panted as he reached the landing on the third floor. To his right, an
open loft, moonlight streaming in through the only window. A row of shelves
lined the wall, filled with hundreds of books. Plants hung from the ceiling,
their blooms gold and blue and yellow and pink.
To his left, a hallway with closed doors. Pictures hung on the walls:
sunsets on white beaches, snow falling in thick clumps in an old forest, a
church covered in moss with one stained glass window still intact.
“This is where I lived,” Nelson said, hands gripping his cane tightly. “My
room is down at the end of the hall.”
“Do you miss it?”
“The room?”
“Life,” Wallace said distractedly, the hook tugging him onward.
“Some days. But I’ve learned to adapt.”