Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

believe in. That’s your faith. That’s your order.”
“What would you have me do?” she demanded. She leaned on the railing
next to him. “We can’t stop death. No one can. It’s not something to be
conquered. Everyone dies, Wallace. You. Nelson. Alan. Me. Hugo. All of us.
Nothing lasts forever.”
“Bullshit,” Wallace snapped, suddenly enraged. “The Manager could have
stopped it if he wanted to. He could have told you what was going to happen
to Alan. He could have warned you, and you could have—”
“Never,” Mei said, sounding shocked. “We don’t interfere with death. We
can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s always there. No matter what you do, no matter what kind
of life you live, good or bad or somewhere in between, it’s always going to
be waiting for you. From the moment you’re born, you’re dying.”
He sighed tiredly. “You have to know how bleak that sounds.”
“I do,” she said. “Because it’s the truth. Would you rather have me lie to
you?”
“No. I just … what’s the point, then? To all of this? To any of it? If nothing
we do matters, then why should we try at all?” He was spiraling, he knew.
Rattled and spiraling. His skin was like ice, and it had nothing to do with the
air around him. He clenched his jaw to keep his teeth from chattering.
“Because it’s your life,” Nelson said, coming to the other side of him. “It
is what you make of it. No, it’s not always fair. No, it’s not always good. It
burns and tears, and there are times when it crushes you beyond recognition.
Some people fight against it. Others … can’t, though I don’t think they can be
blamed for that. Giving up is easy. Picking yourself up isn’t. But we have to
believe if we do, we can take another step. We can—”
“Move on?” Wallace retorted. “Because you haven’t. You’re still here, so
don’t you try to spin the same bullshit. You can say all you want, but you’re a
hypocrite with the best of them.”
“And that’s the difference between you and me,” Nelson said. “Because I
never claimed not to be.”
Wallace deflated. “Dammit,” he mumbled. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m
sorry. You didn’t deserve it. Neither of you do. I…” He looked at Mei. “I’m
proud of you. I’ve never said that before, and that’s on me, but I am. I can’t
imagine doing what you do, the toll it must take on you. And dealing with