Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

Nancy began to sob. It crawled from her chest, the monster of grief, trying
to drag her down into the depths.
“Fight,” Wallace whispered. “Oh, please, fight it.”
“She loved you,” Hugo continued, “and she loves you still. No matter
what comes next, that will never change. One day, you’ll see her again. One
day, you’ll look upon her face. There will be no more pain. There will be no
more sorrow. You’ll know peace because you’ll be together. But that day is
not today.”
“Why?” Nancy said, and it was such a desperate thing that Wallace bowed
his head. “Why can’t I have her? Why does it have to hurt so much? Why
can’t I breathe?”
Hugo stopped in front of her. He hesitated before touching the back of her
hand briefly. Nancy didn’t try to pull away. “She isn’t gone. Not really.
Just … moved on.”
“Who are you?” she whispered.
“Someone who cares,” Hugo replied. “I … lied to you. Before. When you
first came here. And for that, I’m sorrier than you could know. I didn’t mean
to hurt you. I didn’t mean to make you feel worse. I help people. Like her. I
help them cross. And we…” He swallowed thickly. “And I—we did that. We
showed her the path forward. Lives don’t end. They move on.” He paused.
“Do you remember the last thing you said to her?”
Nancy deflated, curling in on herself. “Yes.”
“You said go. Go wherever you need to go. To the center of the earth. To
the stars. To the—”
“To the moon to see if it’s made of cheese,” she whispered.
Hugo smiled. “The sickness is gone.”
Nancy glanced at the blackboard, the smear of words, before turning back
to Hugo. “Did you do this?”
He shook his head. “It wasn’t me. But it was someone very important to
me. And you can believe every single word written.”
She watched him for a long time. “I’ll be here. Whenever you’re ready,
I’ll be here. That’s what you keep telling me.”
He nodded.
“Why?” she asked as she trembled. “Why do you care so much?”
“Because I don’t know how else to be.”