Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

Hugo looked at him. “You’re a ghost, Wallace. You’re dead. Pick it up
again.”
Rolling his eyes, he made to do just that. Only this time, his hand passed
right through it. Not only that, his hand went into the countertop. There was a
strange buzzing sensation prickling along his skin, and he gasped as he pulled
his hand back as if it were burned. All his fingers were still attached, and the
buzzing was already fading. He tried it again. And again. And again. Each
time, his hand passed through the spoon and into the counter.
Hugo reached out for Wallace’s hand, but stopped above it, hovering and
coming no closer. “You were able to do it the first time because you’ve
always been able to. You expected it because that’s the way it’s always
worked for you. But then I reminded you that you’ve passed, and you could
no longer touch it. Your expectations changed. You should have unexpected
it.” He tapped the side of his head. “It’s all about your mind and how you
focus it.”
Wallace started to panic, throat closing, hands shaking. “That doesn’t
make any sense!”
“That’s because you’ve been conditioned your entire life to think one way.
Things are different now.”
“Says you.” He reached for the spoon again but jerked his arm up when it
passed through it once more. His hand caught the teacup, knocking it over.
Tea spilled onto the counter. He stumbled back, eyes wide, teeth grinding
together. “I … I can’t be here. I want to go home. Take me home.”
Hugo frowned as he came around the counter. “Wallace, you need to calm
down, okay? Take a breath.”
“Don’t tell me to calm down!” Wallace cried. “And if I’m dead, why are
you telling me to breathe? That is impossible.”
“He’s got a point,” Mei said as she finished her second cup of tea.
For every step Hugo took toward him, Wallace took an answering step
back. Nelson peered around the edge of the chair, a hand resting on the top of
Apollo’s head. The dog’s tail thumped, keeping time like a silent metronome.
“Stay back,” he snarled at Hugo.
Hugo raised his hands placatingly. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I don’t believe you. Don’t come near me. I’m leaving, and there’s nothing
you can do to stop me.”