Mañanaland

They leave when it’s still dark and travel by rowboat. Max’s thoughts drift back to his life at home and all the changes he has undergone while helping Isadora escape. Yadra tries to comfort Max: “I can see you are carrying burdens of your own. Even though you have come seeking answers for yourself, you have been brave and selfless […] Your father and grandfather will be proud of you” (208).

Max asks Yadra what Mañanaland is like. Max believes Mañanaland is a physical place where he can find his mom, and where Rosalina is waiting for Isadora. However, Yadra informs him that Mañanaland does not physically exist: “Maximiliano, I don’t think you understand. Mañanaland is not a destination. It is a…way of thinking” (209). Mañanaland, or tomorrowland, is the idea of hope for a good future beyond the hardships of today: “After you’ve experienced a terrifying and anguished existence, anywhere better…is Mañanaland” (210). Max is embarrassed at his naivete and upset that his quest has come to a dead-end. He worries that without these answers he will never be able to understand his own path in life.

They finally reach the next guardian.