As the rode the elevator Nezani turned to see Ambrose looking at her with a bit of concern. Perturbed she raise her eyebrows at him and widened her eyes asking him 'What?' with her facial expression.

“This will be your first time outside; this town is small and you’re a new face. Don’t let the staring get to you” Ambrose said, clearly concerned for what’s about to take place.

The elevator doors opened, and the brightest ray of sun slapped Nezani in the face. So much had been going on she hadn’t realized she’d been indoors for the last 24? 48? How much time had passed?

“Hey Ambrose, what day is it?

“Whatever day you want it to be. Time doesn’t really exist in the same way here. Where you come from there is a time and a place for everything. Here time and place are just something that is used in certain magical equations and recipes, that’s it”.

“Minutes, Hours, Days, Months even don’t exist here. I can explain more later but for now let’s get you to awakening”

Finally looking up Nezani scanned the landscape around them. They were walking down a wide brick pathway, it had to be at least a city block wide.

Along either side were squares of the plushiest green grass she had ever laid eyes on. Branching off the main brick path were smaller pathways that lead to more buildings, houses and shops.

Ahead was what looked like an open-air market. Merchants at stands, selling everything you could think of: fruit, vegetables, trinkets and other things Nezani couldn’t begin to conceptualize.

Nezani quickly removed herself from her inner thoughts at the feeling of what seemed like hundreds of eyes all watching her, all glued to her movements.

“Hey there, how you doin? Fine and yourself?” Ambrose spoke, nodding at the man passing them through the market.

The market was crowded with people, but a small space begins to open around them as they moved through the crowd, the whispers just as loud as the stares behind them.

Grabbing Nezani’s wrist Ambrose picked up his pace weaving them through the market until it was behind them.

“Like I said, you’re new, this place is small, people having a lot of thoughts about what your return to our world means.”

I guess that is fair, I’m trying to figure out myself what this all means.

As they continued to walk, they came upon the most beautiful path lined with tall blooming trees. The trees on either side had grown together to create a beautiful archway that spanned the length of the walkway. At the foot of the trees bunches of the whitest lilies adorned the grass. At the end of the pathway Nezani could make out what seemed to be a doorway.

“At the end of this path is The House of Awakening” Ambrose said.

“Oh and, word of advice slim. Stand on the stump and push! Dig Deep!”

Nezani turned back to Ambrose to comment to see his smiling image fading from her view.

“Alright” she said as she walked down the path.

Normally something like this would be terrifying for her to experience alone. But since her family had passed, she had gotten a bit used to tackling problems on her own.

She took her time walking down the beautiful pathway, stopping halfway to bend down and smell the lilies she was admiring.

The path was about a mile long, the light in the sky slowly fading as she made her way down the path. When she finally reached the end of the pathway the sky was dark and speckled with galaxies and moons.

Examining the enormous marble doors, she titled her head back as far as it could go, and still the top of the doors evaded her sight.

On either side of the massive doors were concrete walls matching the doors in height and expanding out to the sides as far as Nezani could see.

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Hm I don’t remember seeing this door or wall from the main road.

Directly in front of the doors was the largest tree stump she had ever seen, about 10 feet wide with sparkling gold age lines.

Nezani turned toward the doors and let out a deep sigh. The doors seem to give way slightly as she exhaled.

She cautiously approached the door and stepped up on the stump.

"Think child, think about where you come from and then push" a voice softly spoke to Nez.

Although also in her head, this voice is softer, and older than Madame’s.

Without time to worry about hearing yet another voice in her mind, Nezani stepped into the center of the stump and thought about where she comes from.

Images of Darnell her mother and father blow through her mind.

Opening her eyes Nez realizes the stump is dimly lit and there is a wind blowing upward, tickling the ends of her coily thick hair.

"That's not enough child" the voice whispers. "You are more than the daughter of Anne and Darnell”.

Nez begins to think of her grandparents and their parents. But quickly realizes that she doesn't know her lineage past that.

Pausing in thought for a second faces she's never seen start to fill her mind.

Men, women, children from all eras.

"Yes child...".

As the images flowed faster through her mind, Nezani felt a powerful pressure build up in her body. Like every cell in her body had doubled in size.

The doors begin to open slowly, she could hear the air moving out of the way as the doors forced their way through the gravity of the air to open.

A dense fog clouded her view temporarily , when the doors finally opened fully a gust of air shot into the fog, revealing the view it was hiding .

The sound of rushing water danced around Nezani’s eardrums. She looked up to find the source of the sound. The ceiling of the space as high as the sky, Nezani set her eyes on the large circle in the middle of the ceiling, water was spilling out as if falling out of an overfilled cup. Her eyes followed the water all the way to the ground revealing a large brass basin just below the waterfall.

Breathtaking

She scanned the room and finally noticed the miles and miles of lush green rolling hills, and running perfectly between every mound was a dazzling blue river as wide as street.

Adorning the greenery were vases, clear bowls, fountains things that held water and displayed it beautifully.

The fresh smell of grass and fresh spring water entered Nezani’s nose as she took a deep inhale. It was the freshest purest scent she had ever had the pleasure to inhale.

Lost in her senses Nezani failed to notice the woman sitting off to the side. Snapping out of her daze Nezani jumped noticing the woman staring back at her.

“Beautiful ain’t it?” She said smiling.

"I am the director of registration and awakening, you can call me Tee Birdy".

A single tear fell from her eye, "Such a shame you don't know the names of your ancestors".

Nezani recognized the voice that spoke to her through the doors when she was still on the outside.

Fatigued Nezani nodded in agreement. She had always wondered what her ancestors were like. Given the lack of documentation and knowledge passed down it was nearly impossible to trace her roots even if she wanted to.

"Your spirit has shown you the faces of your ancestors, do well to learn their names." Tee Birdy asserts.

"Okay, follow me let's get this started its build-your-own cheesesteak at the cafe today".

Nezani giggled at the greediness of the woman in front of her. While mystical and divine, it's the first time she's been able to relate to anyone since she arrived at the hotel.

Tee Birdy lead Nezani through another massive archway closer to the large waterfall and basin that had captivated her as she entered the space.

Flowers and green plants line the perimeter of the space. Light softly beamed down from the ceiling where the water was flowing from.

Finally making it to the massive basin Nezani guessed it has to be as large as a backyard.

I wonder how many people it took to get this here.

“We used magic darlin, lots of it”

“Are none of my thoughts private?” Nezani asked half joking and half serious.

“The more you train the better you’ll be able to guard your thoughts”

"Come child, your spirit guide is getting impatient it's time for your awakening"

Tee Birdy lead her into the basin stepping in after.

Guiding Nezani by the hand they walked a few feet to the bottom of the massive waterfall.

Nezani looked back at Tee Birdy blinking thoughtlessly, confused as to what is supposed to happen next.

“Put your head under the water, let the water saturate your hair" said Tee Birdy.

She put her head under the water sheeplishly, flinching at the feel of the cool water hitting her scalp. Tee Birdy firmly placed her hand on the nape of her neck and began to soak her hair with the water.

"It’s running into my eyes!!! It burns!!" Nezani exclaimed.

"Well, if you knew how to hold your head properly maybe it wouldn't."

Nezani could hear the smirk on Tee Birdy's face growing as she speaks.

"Okay all done. Don't rub your eyes, it will be blurry for a few seconds but then you should be able to see" Tee Birdy says.

Nezani stood up and tried to open her eyes but her vision is doubled and blurry.

She squeezes her eyes shut to get the water out and opens her eyes again. As her vision starts to focus, all the colors of the world seem brighter than they were before.

The a strange sensation begins to tickle Nezani's skin, almost as if tons of tiny little things are crawling over her skin. Looking around and scratching her skin profusely Nezani slowly turned her head to see what is crawling on her shoulder.

Her whole-body froze with fear. Staring back at her are two large brown eyes.

Sitting on her shoulder is a small being, pacing the space between Nezani’s collarbone and shoulder.

They are wearing a brown leather vest and skirt. They have matching arm guards and sandals. In the middle of their vest is a tree etched into the leather with gold. The gold accents the rest of their clothes as well. A gold headpiece sits comfortably on top of the braids that hang down to their waist.

They lock eyes with Nezani and a look of excitement washes over them. They walk up to Nezani's face and place their hand on her cheek. With the placement of their tiny hand the fear fades from Nezani’s bones and she relaxes.

Looking up to ask Tee Birdy and sees that Tee Birdy's eyes wide with shock. "A..A Guardian, who are you?!” Tee Birdy stuttered.

"Madam, come!"

As if she walking out of thin air Madam appears and slowly walks toward Nezani smiling.

“I already knew, I just wanted to surprise you Tee!” Madame said wearing an even wider smile than before.

“This is Anne and Darnell’s daughter, a Meti, a Guardian and the last of her lineage”

Temporarily ignoring the words Madame spoke, Nezani catches her reflection in the water collecting in the basin.

On top of her head is a metal piece that looks like it's made of golden branches. Front and center is a tree from which the branches are growing from.

Her head feels heavy, just as she notices the extra weight. she starts to feel heaviness come over every part of her body. Looking down she gasps at the golden armor and cuffs on her chest and wrists. Gold earrings, necklaces and anklets shine against her copper brown skin.

"What's happening?" she says out loud.

Who am I?!