Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

but my legs didn’t work. My arms didn’t work. And the people on the
sidewalk just kept … walking. It’s not fair.”
“No,” Hugo said. “It never is.”
“Help me,” Alan said. “Help me.”
“I will. I promise I’ll do what I can.”
Alan nodded, almost relieved. “Good. We need to find him. I don’t know
where he lives, but if we just went back, I can find—”
“I told you,” Mei said. “We can’t go back.” She looked perturbed.
Wallace wondered what had happened to make her seem so spooked. “You
can only move forward.”
Alan didn’t like that. He glared at Mei, teeth bared. “You said that, yes.
But let’s leave it up to your boss here, huh? You’ve already said enough. I
don’t like it when you talk. You don’t tell me what I want to hear.”
Hugo lifted the teapot and began to pour hot water into the cups on the
tray. The steam billowed. He arched an eyebrow at Wallace and Nelson.
Nelson shook his head. Hugo filled three cups before setting the pot back
down. “What would you do?” he asked as he lifted tea leaves from the jar.
He placed a single leaf in each of the cups. “If you could find him? If you
knew where he was?”
Alan flinched, brow furrowing. His hands curled into fists. “I would hurt
him like he hurt me.”
“Why?”
“Because he deserves it for what he did to me.”
“And that would make you feel better?”
“Yes.”
“An eye for an eye.”
“Yes.”
“This tea is called kuding cha,” Hugo said. “It’s unlike any tea I have here
at my shop. I can’t remember the last time I made it. It’s not for everyone. It’s
said to have medicinal properties, and some people swear by it.”
“I told you I don’t want tea.”
“I know,” Hugo said. “And even if you did, I couldn’t give it to you yet. It
needs time to steep, you see. Good tea is patience. It’s not about instant
gratification, not like the bags with the little strings. Those can be fleeting,
here and gone again before you know it. Tea like this makes you appreciate
the effort you put into it. The more it steeps, the stronger the taste.”