Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

Hugo shook his head. Muttering under his breath, he climbed the stairs,
Apollo following him.
Mei waited until the door slammed shut above them before she turned to
Wallace. “He’ll do what he can,” she said quietly.
“I know,” Wallace said. “But I don’t know if he should.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What?”
He sighed as he looked away. “He has a job to do. Nothing is more
important than that. He can’t throw it away because of me.”
“He’s not throwing anything away,” she said sharply. “He’s fighting to
give you the time you deserve, to make your own choice about when you’re
ready. Don’t you see that?”
“Does it matter?”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“I’m dead,” he said. “There’s no going back from that. A river only moves
in one direction.”
“But—”
“It is what it is. You’ve all taught me that. I didn’t listen at first, but I
learned. And it made me better because of it. Isn’t that the point?”
She sniffled. “Oh, Wallace. It’s more than that now.”
“Maybe,” he said. “Maybe if things were different, we’d…” He couldn’t
finish. “There’s still time left. The best thing I can do is to make the most of
it.”
Soon after, she went to bed.
The clocked ticked, ticked, ticked the seconds and minutes and hours
away.
Nelson said, “I’m glad you’re here.”
Wallace jerked his head up. “What?”
Nelson smiled sadly. “When you first arrived, I thought you were just
another visitor. You’d stay for a little while, and then you’d see the light.” He
chuckled. “Forgive the expression. Clichéd, I know. Hugo would do what he
does, and you’d move on without muss or fuss, even though you were
adamant you wouldn’t. You’d be like all the others who’d come before you.”
“I am.”
“Perhaps,” Nelson allowed. “But that doesn’t discount what you’ve done
in your time here. The work you’ve put in to making yourself a better
person.” He shuffled toward Wallace, setting the cane against the table