The Book of Elora

V.

It doesn't take me long to realize where Milo and I are once we emerge from the realm portal. Lush green trees stretch familiarly above me, obstructing my already limited view of skyscrapers craning toward the night sky. I'm sure this skyline is among one of the many reasons Natari chose to settle down here of all the places in the world.

"Central Park, huh?" I quip, not surprised that this is an exit point. New York City is full of supernatural surprises, much like movies and television always portray. Sharp winds whip through my curls, stabbing at the little skin exposed by my cloak. I hate cold weather, so I'm grateful to hardly feel it through the layers I have on. This snakeskin getup is warmer than I thought it would be, not to mention cute as hell.

Milo lifts the hood of his cloak above his head, shrouding his face down to his brows. "The trees here are incredibly old. They have strong ley lines, which are necessary for realm portal exit points. The Earth Realm has several landmarks with strong ley lines."

I scoff, lifting my own hood. "Oh, I'm aware. My history with these grounds always ends up drawing me back this park. I've had many a conversation with the trees." I take the lead, striding to find the path I always walked whenever I traversed through here. Milo trails behind me without argument. "I would meditate here often and discovered how strong the ley lines were because it was easy for me to commune with the trees. When you've seen the world change and evolve long enough, it gets harder for you to connect with those who haven't experienced the things you have. To them, I'm an old friend, so they shared secrets with me."

"I've heard of trees trusting people enough to share thousand year old secrets, but I always thought it was ultimately a myth. Do I dare ask what secrets the trees of Central Park left with you?" Milo questions from behind me.

"I swore to secrecy, so I can't share the things I've learned from them. But I've crossed these grounds so often, I could draw a map of it at any point in time, even before it was a park. I was here in the days it was Seneca Village." My mind drifts back to one of my past lives as the daughter of an Irish immigrant living in an up and coming city.

"Seneca Village?" I'm not surprised Milo doesn't know anything about it. All he remembers of the Earth Realm is Kemet.

"It was a small town founded by free black Americans in 1825. There weren't too many of us, but as one of its few residents, I saw first-hand how it flourished. The city used eminent domain to tear our homes and churches down and construct the park you see today. I was so hurt and angry about it that I left the city and didn't look back. At least until my life as Florence in the 1920s. Natari convinced me to stay with her and see how much things have changed."

Milo lets a few breaths of silence hang between us, the only sounds being the wind rustling through the trees. "That's never come up in the lessons I've had about human cultures," he says. I slow to a halt before one specific tree, an Evodia with whom I've resonated with before. Pressing my palm to the trunk, I smirk as I feel powerful waves of energy radiating from it. Strong and unwavering as ever.

"It's one of those things that's not bragged about, being that it's black history and all," I breathe. So much of the past was buried or rewritten, just because it was black history. "Look at how they degraded Kemet? Calling it Ancient Egypt instead. We were there. We saw firsthand how amazing our kingdom was, and how it honored the gods and people of color." Milo nods in agreement, as his memory of that time is probably much fresher than mine. It's rare when I can reminisce as far back as my life as Nailah. How simple and fulfilling it was. His past life as Amenophis is the only one he's forced to reflect on. I on the other hand have had so many, I've lost count. I can't be bothered to reflect on all of them just for the sake of knowing how many times I've died.