FADE IN:
EXT. SEASHORE - DAY
Under the sunny sky, PETER walks along a promenade. Some WORKERS with heavy machinery are fixing a part of the embankment.
PETER (V.O.)
The workers' activities using
heavy machinery have disrupted
the peace by the seashore. I
only stay in the nearby resort
for a day.
INT. STUDY - DAY
Surrounded by guitars, Peter practises fingering as he watches TV. We see on TV the UK Prime Minister Teresa May holding a letter in front of the screen image of a man in army uniform.
PETER (V.O.)
Oh, she performs as well.
We hear: My Darling...You and I have had some lovely years which now seem to have passed at lightning speed...Although I would give anything to be back with you, I have not yet had any wish at all to back down from the job we have to do...
We see from the TV subtitle: Captain Skinner was killed on the day after landing.
Then we see the US President Trump reciting in front of the screen image of President Franklin Roosevelt.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
What's he reciting about?
Oh, an excerpt of the wartime
president's prayer about
the Normandy operation.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
I prefer hearing the Captain's
feeling for his wife and country
than the President's prayer
in safe quarter.
Peter surfs the web.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
More than 150,000 solders
took part in the operation and
4414 of them were killed on June 6, 1944.
MONTAGE AND DAYDREAM SEQUENCE OF PETER'S COMPARISON BETWEEN HIS LEISURE TRAVEL AND THE D-DAY OPERATION
A/ INT. CIVIL AIRCRAFT/MILITARY AIRCRAFT - DAY
Peter sits in a leather seat relaxing. Paratroopers sit on a bench, preparing to jump.
B/ INT./EXT. AIRPORT/SOMEWHERE NEAR NORMANDY - DAY
Peter arrives and gets into an elegant restaurant. Paratroopers land in nowhere, some are killed or wounded.
C/ EXT. ROADS, JAPAN/FRANCE - DAY
Carrying a light travel bag, Peter enjoys the scenes and takes photos. Carrying heavy gear, the soldiers are on alert, ready to shoot.
D/ INT./EXT. HOTEL/NOWHERE - NIGHT
Having checked in, Peter enjoys the hot-spring bath. Soldiers stay where they are, trying to get some rest.
E/ INT./EXT. RESTAURANT/NOWHERE - MORNING
Peter is served with nice breakfast. Soldiers help themselves to whatever they have.
END MONTAGE AND DAYDREAM SEQUENCE
TV subtitle indicates that around 300 D-Day veterans are still alive after 75 years.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
They're all in their 90s.
How would they compare
their old lives with those
who could never grow old?
Then on TV, a veteran speaks his mind. We hear: I'm not a hero. I'm just lucky. All the heroes are dead.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Perhaps, the dead, many
of them in their late teens,
had their heroic lives
compacted in the longest
day.
We see Teresa May speaking on TV again: That day...is June 6, 1944.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Although I was only born 10
years after D-Day operation,
I heard many war stories and
watched many war movies.
The 1962 black-and-white
3-hour long film: The Longest
Day and its theme song have
a lasting impression on me.
Peter ends his guitar fingering with a minor chord.
INT. CLUB HOUSE - DAY
Reading newspapers casually, Peter seems struck by a feature photo.
PETER (V.O.)
Well, the German Chancellor
Merkel was also present for
the commemoration of the 75th
anniversary of the D-Day.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd) All combatants, irrespective
of their allegiance had their
jobs to destroy, capture or
repel their enemies.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
Were the Germans conquered
or liberated? Same query for
the Japanese.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
What's clear is that power
is might! Could the French
liberate themselves through
an internal uprising?
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd)
German could have become
the dominant language in
Europe and Japanese in
Asia.
INT. SWIMMING POOL - DAY
The sun is bright and the water is clear. Peter swims freely.
PETER (V.O.)
What's primal for beings
is to be alive. For humans,
no matter how grand the
concept are framed, they're
just high-sounding words.
History has lifted their
veils.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd)
The job I've to do, is to
continue to live my life.
The last thing I need is for
others to keep my stories
alive by remembering me,
if at all, once in a while!
Peter swims like a butterfly.
FADE OUT. The End