“Tomorrow is another day”
1580 – Central America
JESS, a traveller, sees ANAKA, a 16 year old native Maya girl, floating face down in a lake. He saves her life and then agrees to come back with her to her village.
He meets ANAKA’s father, TWO TIGER, and her 10 year old sister, KALU. ANAKA’s mother, OCELOT has been unconscious since giving birth to a baby, POC A TOC.
JESS finds out from TWO TIGER that the people of the village still worship the sun god, Huitzilopochi, and believe in offering human sacrifices. JESS realises that the chosen sacrifice is ANAKA.
JESS meets BAZAL, the grotesquely dressed high priest. JESS tells him that, on all of his travels, nowhere else do they still worship Huitzilopochi and offer human sacrifices. JESS realises that BAZAL is corrupt. BAZAL directly profits from the fact that the villagers see him as the Sun God’s chosen one.
JESS tells TWO TIGER that the sacrifice of his daughter is unnecessary. In front of a large crowd, BAZAL claims that JESS is a demon and that his poison has spread to TWO TIGER. Both look set to die until ANAKA demands their release in order for her sacrifice to go ahead. JESS is banished from the village but secretly returns..
JESS visits KALU and tells him of his plan to rescue ANAKA. Outside the readiness hut, KALU distracts the guards by juggling while JESS enters the hut and then escapes with ANAKA through a window.
On discovering the escape, BAZAL decides to sacrifice ANAKA’s baby sister, POC A TOC instead. On the morning of the sacrifice, TWO TIGER is tied to a stake and BAZAL holds baby POC A TOC ready for the sacrifice. ANAKA, in hiding, decides to give herself up as the sacrifice instead of her sister.
As the procession nears the alter, TWO TIGER is released by OCELOT, who has awoken from her state of unconsciousness.
ANAKA is bound to the sacrificial alter. JESS finds a discarded urn and is able to scare the villagers by moaning into the urn and letting it echo against a Rock Wall. JESS and KALU also use the looking glass to reflect the Torchlight.
KALU has a sheet spread over her and presents herself to the villagers. This is the final straw and the villagers, with the exception of BAZAL, turn and run away.
The sheet falls revealing KALU. BAZAL goes to kill ANAKA with the dagger but JESS intervenes. JESS fights the more powerful BAZAL and just as BAZAL is about to stab JESS, TWO TIGER grabs BAZAL’s throat.
The villagers watch the sun come up and want their revenge on BAZAL. TWO TIGER persuades them that killing is wrong and spares BAZAL’s life.
JESS invites ANAKA to come and travel to distant lands with him.
