A "Going On"

1. FADE IN.

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. STUDY - MORNING

6. 
   

7. PETER works on his laptop, as the TV is playing travel stories.

8. 
   

9. PETER: I've sent the last professional mail before 2021.

10. 
    

11. His phone rings. Peter takes it. After a lengthy conversation, Peter ends it with: Happy New Year!

12. 
    

13. PETER (V.O): Today is New Year Eve. I don't plan to do any professional work in the afternoon. I need to find and buy 2 plastic screws to fix my 8-seater car so that it can be on the road again.

15. Peter watches the TV stories inattentively.

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): There're people whose life objectives are travel as many countries as possible.

18. 
    

19. Peter checks a What'sApp message.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A friend has already made his admirable New Year resolution.

22. 
    

23. Pausing.

24. 
    

25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But is today really the end of something or the eve of something?

26. 
    

27. Act 2

28. 
    

29. INT. STUDY - AFTERNOON

30. 
    

31. Peter types on his laptop and watches TV intermittently.

32. 
    

33. PETER (V.O.): What are my highs and lows in 2020?

34. 
    

35. Recalling.

36. 
    

37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I visited Tokyo in Jan and Sapporo in Feb. But in mid-Feb, I got a death threat from a hired killer due to my professional work.

38. 
    

39. Recalling.

40. 
    

41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In March, while my trip to see my elder daughter in Fukuoka was cancelled due to the pandemic, my younger daughter returned from UK to begin her isolation.

42. 
    

43. Recalling.

44. 
    

45. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My anticipation to visit UK in April and to Australia in May was frustrated. No more travel-planning fun too.

46. 
    

47. Pausing.

48. 
    

49. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What have I done since then, apart from having occasional staycations?

50. 
    

51. Peter scrolls down his diaries in his phone.

52. 
    

53. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): In June, I focused on existentialism. In early July, my wife and I visited the Ocean Park! In August, my interest turned to aesthetics, particularly about readymade artworks.

54. 
    

55. Checking.

56. 
    

57. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In Sept, my younger son returned from Australia. And after serving his isolation, l bought him a guitar - the only one I bought this year.

58. 
    

59. Pausing.

60. 
    

61. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): In Oct, I spent a lot of time writing law lecture notes on 5 subjects. I learned something new in the process. It was intellectually satisfying.

62. 
    

63. Thinking.

64. 
    

65. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): In Nov, I began managing my cars and my homes better. What have I done in Dec?

66. 
    

67. Peter checks his Quora App.

69. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): In a few minutes, I wrote a short story The Tenant and published it in Quora on Dec 3. There've been over 2.4 million views and 4.8K upvotes.

70. 
    

71. Pausing.

72. 
    

73. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Is that all? Have I missed anything significant in the last 365 days?

74. 
    

75. On the TV screen, an anchor is reporting: UK is the 1st country to have approved 2 COVID-19 vaccines...China just approved its home-made one.

76. 
    

77. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Must they be approved on the last day of 2020? It seems that such acts are popular in politics.

78. 
    

79. Reflecting.

80. 
    

81. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I've written no song in 2020. I haven't had the mood to compose any song. Should I write one today? Can't I resume when I'm in the mood?

82. 
    

83. Pausing.

84. 
    

85. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In fact, today is neither an end nor the eve of anything; it's just a "going-on".

86. 
    

87. Act 3

88. 
    

89. INT. STUDY - LATER

90. 
    

91. Peter is setting up a sound system at a side table. Later, we hear theatre sounds and Peter looks very pleased with that.

92. 
    

93. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The last time I played this set and the CD was over 10 years ago.

94. 
    

95. EXT. CAR PARK - NIGHT

96. 
    

97. Peter is fixing a car registration plate with plastic screws.

98. 
    

99. PETER (V.O.): The registration plate fell off as I shut the car's back door yesterday night. The heads of the securing screws came off due to plastic fatigue.

100. 
     

101. Pausing.

102. 
     

103. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I bought the car in 2000 - 20 years old. As to the registration number, it was issued in 1980 - 40 years old.

104. 
     

105. Pausing.

106. 
     

107. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A former classmate of mine thought "CH" stands for "Cheung". I thought "2400" to mean "Be Easy Year After Year."

108. 
     

109. Pausing.

110. 
     

111. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But life isn't like that. It's full of ups and downs, twists and turns.

113. INT. STUDY - EVENING

114. 
     

115. Peter checks a phone mail.

116. 
     

117. PETER (V.O.): Oh, the other side has replied to my professional mail. I just can't resist my urge to deal with it.

118. 
     

119. Having printed out something with his printer, Peter studies it carefully before putting it inside a brief case.

120. 
     

121. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What is significant is that life goes on. And to maintain our life balance, we must keep moving, anytime.

123. FADE OUT.

124. 
     

125. THE END