FADE IN.
Act 1
EXT. ROADS/HIGHTWAYS TO NT - MORNING
PETER is driving his SMART PULSE.
PETER: I take today as my holiday. I'll do voluntary and professional work for the rest of the week.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.): I've told my Quora fans that for the next 48 hours what I'd do, for myself, are to swim at Golden Beach and publish two short screenplays.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): I've learned to love myself better. My pleasures are simple.
EXT. GOLDEN BEACH - NOON
Peter swims around the swimming area.
PETER (V.O.(Cont'd): I'm swimming to my heart's content - non-stop for about 45 minutes.
Act 2
EXT. LAKE SIDE, FAIRVIEW PARK, NT - AFTERNOON
Peter walks past a quiet bicycle shop.
FLASHBACK
EXT. BICYCLE SHOP, HUNG SHUI KIU, NT - DAY (1964)
Peter (10) hired a small bicycle from a SHOPKEEPER.
PETER (V.O.): When I've saved 40 cents, I'd hire this bicycle and ride on it to Lau Fau Shan and return for pleasure.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm sharing the road with cars. I challenge myself to ride along the road edge.
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Bicycles are the first machines I mastered before my teens.
INT. PETER'S NT HOME - AFTERNOON
At the G/F sitting room, Peter is listening to a song. We hear: There're 9 million bicycles in Beijing...like a fact that I'll love you till I die... There're 12 billion lights years from the edge...But I know I always be with you...
PETER (V.O.): This is the only 21st C song that has touched my heart.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): About a fortnight ago, while listening to an internet radio, I was captivated by the melody of this song, but I didn't know the song title.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): About a week ago, I heard the song on the internet radio again. I followed the lyrics attentively and found that it got an interesting title: 9 Million Bicycles (in Beijing).
Peter focuses on his late wife's photo nearby.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was taken in Beijing in December 1987.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We joined a package tour and visited Beijing for the first time.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was a wonderful tour as there was snowfall while we're at Tiananmen Square.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Back home, we loved to ride our BMX bikes to the artificial lake.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When we had our son, he'd sit in a baby seat in one of our bikes.
Taking a look of the bicycles nearby, Peter captures a photo of them.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the late 2010s, I suddenly realized that my children didn't know to ride bicycles.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And so I bought a number of bicycles of different sizes so that they might learn.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They did acquire the basic riding skills.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They haven't come back here for over 10 years now. Despite the flat tires, the bicycles look brand new as they're kept indoor here.
Peter taps the rewind icon on the phone screen. We hear: There're 9 million bicycles in Beijing...
Act 3
EXT. HIGHWAYS/ROADS DOWNTOWN - EVENING
Moonrise. Peter is driving his NISSAN 200SX at 100km/hr.
PETER (V.O.): The moon is so big, so beautiful. It lights up my senses.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm feeling the pulse of the approaching mid-Autumn festival.
At a sloppy roadside corner, Peter sees two cyclists waiting the traffic to pass by.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was enthusiastic. But since I got a driving licence, I've allowed my coupes to seduce me.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I didn't foresee that I'd spend the first part of my "next" 48 hours, daydreaming about bicycles in Beijing or at home.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So my today's short screenplay theme will be the bicycle stories.
Peter drives past the cyclists and their bicycles under the bright moonlight.
: FADE OUT.
THE END
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