A Baby Powder Symphony
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Feb 22
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. STUDIO - 10:45
Sunlight creeps through the curtains. Smartphone in hand, PETER scrolls through his Facebook feed, pausing on a video clip.
PETER (V.O.): Five types of classical music?
On screen, we see a pianist's fingers dancing gracefuly over the keys and we hear melodious sounds.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Ah, that's Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Impressionist...
Peter looks enlightened.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): What's the last one, the "modern" classical type?
On screen, we see the pianist merely resting his hands, and then his elbow on the keys, producing discordant noise.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I've no problem in playing the "modern" classical type at all!
Peter smiles widely.
Act 2
INT. PETER'S NT HOME - 16:30
Messy. A garbage bag in hand, Peter is decluttering in the llving room.
PETER (V.O): Whenever I return, I make it a point to discard a bag of unused items.
Peter sees a bottle of baby powder.
PETER (V.O): Over 20 years...where did the time go?
Recalling.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I used to bring my wife and our children to have dinner with my Dad and Mom every Saturday.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): And after the family dinner, we'd stay the night here.
Sighing.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): But our routine came to a halt when my Dad fell terminally ill.
Peter examines the bottle and puts some powder in his hand.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): It's still good...Should I discard it?
Hesitating, Peter puts it aside.
Studio. Sitting before an old Yamaha upright piano, Peter presses a few keys, but they stick.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): The piano has been sitting here for over 40 years. When I attempted to play it about three years ago, many of the keys were sticky.
Peter lifts up the sticky keys with his fingers and continues to play.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I embrace the challenge of playing well, even with sticky keys.
Suddenly, there's a glimmer of hope in his eyes.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Why don't I use the baby powder to soften the rough edges of the keys?
Peter takes the baby powder, sprinkles it over the sticky keys, and then plays a few chords.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): It works!
Spinkling more baby power on the keys, Peter plays the notes and chords of "A Summer Place".
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): It's pretty smooth!
As his smile grows wider with each note and chord, Peter finishes the musical piece.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): It's alive...Sharon first played the musical piece for me in the Summer of 1974.
Having sprinkled baby power onto the keyboard, Peter puts his hands and elbow on it.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): I'm playing "modern" classifical music.
INT. STUDIO - 20:30
Returning, Peter rushes to the old Clavinova.
PETER (V.O): It's of the 1st generation, made in 1987. Sharon, and later my children, played it.
Taking out a bag of baby powder from his pocket, Peter sprinkles it onto the keyboard.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): And let me play "modern" classical music again.
Later, Peter plays A Summer Place, losing himself in the music.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Thank you, my love.
We see and hear a MAID knocking at the door.
MAID: Sir, dinner is getting cold.
Act 3.
INT. BEDROOM - 22:45
Peter inserts an AI drawing titled: "A Baby Powder Symphony..." to a draft on his laptop.
PETER (V.O): A sprinkle of nostalgia can transform a sticky situation into a symphony.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Just as baby powder softens rough edges, music eases the journey of life.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O) (Cont'd): Music isn't just notes and chords; its the memories I play along with.
FADE OUT
THE END
Yorumlar