ACT I - SCENE 2
[A few years later, The Cricket Girl has grown up to become a lovely teenager. Still in rags and populated by whip marks and bruises throughout her body, she still struggles to keep up with the others as they use ropes to drag another slab of brick up an incline.]
[We see The Girl's face, straining, sweating, and in tears.]
[The Girl slips and falls to the ground. The shadow of a minion approaches.]
[We see the minion crack his whip.]
Minion: Get up!
[WHIP! The Girl screams in total agony.]
The Girl: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!
[The Girl grabs the rope, and feebly continues with the drag.]
[The minion watches as the team of weakened civilians continue dragging the stone slab up the inclining dirt hill.]
[A moment later, we see a man with an eyeglass take a stone pick, and starts hammering. The Girl, still feeble and worn out observes.]
[We see the stone pick being hammered into the stone slab.]
[The distinct clinking noise from the pick hitting the slab stirs the memory of The Girl, as evidenced by her looking up from the slab in deep thought.]
[FLASH! We see a flashback in which we see the seven-year-old Cricket Girl, outside of the field, tending to a cricket that she just caught. We see a home owner pounding a pick into a stone slab, creating a mentoring Buddha statue. The Girl looks over at the statue maker.]
[We see the statue maker taking great care of the statue he is finishing.]
[The Girl smiles at the sight. She looks down the way past the statue.]
[We see Little Jack tossing his playing ball into the air and catching it.]
[The Girl smiles and runs towards Little Jack.]
[Little Jack continues tossing his ball. But, he stops as he hears a cricket chirp. Little Jack looks and finds The Girl with a cricket in her hand.]
[Jack smiles as he recognizes The Girl.]
[The Girl raises her flat hand and lets the cricket fly away.]
[Little Jack watches the cricket fly. He then turns his attention back to The Girl.]
[The Girl points to Little Jack's ball.]
[Little Jack looks at the ball, then The Girl, and throws the ball to The Girl.]
[The Girl catches the ball and throws back.]
[Little Jack smiles and bats the ball back to The Girl with his flat hand.]
[The Girl also bats the ball back to Jack with her flat hand.]
[Little Jack moves a little to his left to bat the ball back to The Girl.]
[The Girl swiftly moves to her right to bat the ball back to Little Jack.]
[We see ten several alternating shots between Little Jack and The Girl's hands batting the ball back and forth to each other.]
[The Girl catches the ball, but doesn't throw it back as she needs to catch her breath.]
[Little Jack is a little concerned by this.]
Little Jack: Water?
[The Girl nods her head as she continues to catch her breath.]
[Little Jack goes to an older gentleman in front of his home.]
Little Jack: Cup?
[The older gentleman tosses wooden cup to Jack, who thanks him.]
Little Jack: Arigatō.
[The older gentleman waves his hand as if to say, "You're welcome". Little Jack runs off.]
[Little Jack sees a water reservoir.]
[We see Little Jack dip the wooden cup into the reservoir.]
[We see The Girl's hand take the wooden cup filled with water from Little Jack's hand.]
[The Girl takes a sip from the wooden cup while Little Jack hangs onto his ball. The Girl dries her lips and looks at Little Jack.]
The Girl: Thank you.
Little Jack: You're welcome. Tell me, do you have friends?
The Girl: The other girls do not like crickets or running in the fields like I do. So….no. Do you?
Little Jack: When I'm not running in the fields, I spend most times in the Palace. Plus, the other boys are bigger than me and use their bigger size to push me around. So, not very many.
The Girl: Oh…must feel lonely, then.
Little Jack: Sometimes, but my mother and father have always taken great care of me. They love me so. I never feel lonely when I am with them.
The Girl: You are very blessed, my Prince. My father works so hard to keep our home beautiful. Yet, it has been so much harder for him since my mother…..
[Little Jack doesn't quite understand, especially when The Girl starts to choke up with a tear in her eye.]
Little Jack: Your mother?
The Girl: She left this world far too soon. A sickness…..even the medicine man did not know.
[Little Jack, now understanding, stands closer to The Girl as she sorts through her tears.]
Little Jack: Your family loves you. If they did not, you would not have been this nice.
[The Girl dries her tears and looks at Little Jack.]
The Girl: You are a true Prince, Your Highness. Our home is very lucky to have you.
[Little Jack smiles at the compliment. But then, the Emperor yells from across the area.]
Emperor: SON! SON, COME HOME!
[Little Jack sees from across the town that his father is looking for him.]
Little Jack: COMING, FATHER!
[Little Jack turns to The Girl.]
Little Jack: Thank you for a fun game.
The Girl: And thank you for the company.
[The Girl swiftly plants another quick kiss on Little Jack's cheek, making him blush a little.]
Emperor: SON!
Little Jack: I must go. Bye!
[Little Jack runs off as The Girl waves to him.]
The Girl: Bye…..Your Highness.
[The Girl smiles amorously as her friend runs off to his father.]
[FLASH! We go back to the man with the eyeglass, hammering the pick into the stone tablet. The Girl watches this, with tears in her eyes. She closes her eyes. She is in emotional pain.]
The Girl: Where are you?
[The camera shows the quarry from above, populated with other stone idols of Aku's likeness. The man with the eyeglass continues beating into the stone slab as The Girl and a couple others look on. The image fades to black.]