Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

he drank. Mei went next, followed by Nelson, then Hugo. Apollo did too,
lapping at the bowl.
Wallace raised the cup to his lips, breathing in the orange mingling with
spice. He could almost picture it, lying on the ground in the grass, looking up
at a tree heavy with fruit, the leaves swaying softly in a cool breeze, sunlight
trickling through the branches. He drank deeply, the tea sliding down his
throat, warming him from the inside out.
Once the tea was finished, Wallace felt like he had only a moment before.
Except …
Except that wasn’t quite true, was it?
Because he’d had his third cup of tea. His gaze drifted to the Balti
proverb hanging above the counter.
Stranger. Guest. Family.
He belonged to them now just as much as they belonged to him.
He set the teacup back on the table before he could drop it. It clattered
against the table, but the remains of the tea didn’t spill. Cameron did the
same. He stared down at the teacup, a look of wonder on his face. “I can…”
He turned his gaze up toward the ceiling. “Can you hear that? It’s … it
sounds like a song. It’s the loveliest thing I’ve ever heard.”
“Yes,” Nelson said quietly as Apollo barked.
“Me too,” Wallace said.
Mei shook her head.
Hugo looked stricken, but Wallace hadn’t expected him to hear what they
could. It wasn’t meant for him, at least not yet.
“It’s calling me,” Cameron whispered.
Wallace smiled.
They stood around the table, Wallace floating amidst them, drinking the
tea until there was nothing left but the dregs.
Hugo found him on the back deck, floating horizontal to the ground, hands
folded behind his head as he gazed up at the night sky. Mei had tied the leash
to a deck railing after he’d asked, telling him he wasn’t allowed to untie it
for any reason. The stars were as bright as they always were. They stretched