top of page

Under the Whispering Doors
by T.J. Klune

UndertheWhisperingDoor_text.jpg

“Another door on the right led to a half bathroom with a sign hanging on it that read: Guys, Gals & Our Nonbinary Pals.” (p. 75)

“”You’re awfully strange.”

He heard the smile in her voice. “Thank you. That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me. You’re awfully strange too, Wallace Price.”” (p. 120)

“”Are you God?” Wallace choked out.

The boy laughed. It sounded like he was singing. “No. Of course not. There is no God, at least not like you’re thinking. He’s a human construct, one capable of great peace and violent wrath. It’s a dichotomy only found in the human mind, so of course he’d be made in your image. But I’m afraid he’s nothing but a fairy tale in a book of fiction. The truth is infinitely more complicated than that.”” (p. 264)

“”When I found him, he was angry and confused. Adrift. He didn’t understand the way of things, and yet he had this light in him, fierce but in danger of flickering out. I taught him how to harness it. People like him, they’re rare. There’s beauty in the chaos, if you know where to look for it. But you would know about that, wouldn’t you? You see it too.”” (p. 288)

“”It’s the entire point!” Wallace exclaimed. “It’s not about any one person. It’s about all of us, and what we do for one another. The door doesn’t discriminate. It’s there for everyone who is brave enough to look up at it. Some people lose their way, but that’s not their fault. They’re scared. My god, of course they are. How could they not be? Everyone loses their way at some point, and it’s not just because of their mistakes or the decisions they make. It’s because they’re horribly, wonderfully human. And the one thing I’ve learned about being human is that we can’t do this alone. When we’re lost, we need help to try to find our way again.”” (p. 344-345)

“”How strange you are,” the Manager said. “You’ve changed. What caused it? Do you even know?”

Wallace laughed, wild and bright. “You, I think. Or at least, you’re a part of it, even if nothing you do makes any sense. But that’s par for the course with existing, because life is senseless, and on the off chance we find something that does make sense, we hold onto it as tightly as we can. I found myself because of you. But you pale in comparison to Mei. To Nelson. Apollo.” He swallowed thickly. “And Hugo.”” (p. 346)

bottom of page