Appropriately Small

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. BEDROOM - 07:45

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7. Sunlight streams through sheer curtains, casting a warm glow across the room. PETER lies in bed, cocooned in a small turtle comforter.

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9.  PETER (V.O.): Having completed my commitment yesterday, I moved on to the next task: inviting Chong to lunch.  I was delighted that he could make it today.

10. 
    

11. Pausing.

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13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): However, I've an on-going professional task...

14. 
    

15. Pausing.

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17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But a lawyer's job is never done...work can wait.

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19. As a smile spreads across Peter's face, he grabs his smartphone.

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21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): First, complete my Duolingo streaks; second, enjoy lunch; and third, go swimming.

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23. Act 2

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25. INT. STICKS & FIRE, FORTRESS HILL - 12:15

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27. Small, modern and stylish. At a corner table, Peter sips from a small bowl of soup.

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29. PETER (V.O.): I haven't placed my order yet, but I was served complementary soup while I wait for Chong.

30. 
    

31. Checking a phone notification, Peter quickly responds.

33. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've just accepted another brief on human rights.

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35. When CHONG (60s) joins Peter, they both order the same main course and drinks.

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37. CHONG: We've so much in common. What do you intend to do after lunch?

38. 
    

39. PETER: I'd go swimming in a bay accessible by any nearby bus.

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41. CHONG: Let's go together; I'll drive.

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43. Chong opens the MyObservatory app on his smartphone.

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45. CHONG (Cont'd): Based on the wind direction, we'll go to St. Stephen's Bay, as it's sheltered from the wind.

47. EXT. ROADS TO ST. STEPHEN'S BAY - 14:30

48. 
    

49. Chong's silent EV glides through the streets of Hong Kong. Peter looks out of the window, the cityscape blurring into green coastline.

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51. PETER: No engine noise.

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53. CHONG: Just...forward motion.

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55. PETER: A very comfortable big EV.

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57. EXT. ST. STEPHEN'S BAY - 15:00

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59. A secluded, beautiful cove. No crowds. Peter and Chong are wading into the clear water.

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61. PETER (V.O.): Oh, that's fantastic; and I feel appropriately small.

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63. They swim for a while in comfortable silence.

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65. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I see the universe in its proper scale, and find my rightful, peaceful place within it.

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67. Peter strolls along the beach with Chong.

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69. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The frantic hustle is a spell to make I feel bigger. The quiet observation of the bay is the spell to make I feel appropriately small, and infinitely more real.

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71. EXT. CAR PARK, ST. STEPHEN'S BAY - 15:15

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73. Peter and Chong head back to the EV. A luxury car blocks their exit.

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75. PETER: Adjacent to the road is the campus of St. Stephen's College Preparatory School. The parents drive here to collect their children.

77. Chong drives very carefully as a long line of luxury cars wait by the side of the road.

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79. PETER (Cont'd): I was one of them, For years.

80. 
    

81. Chong glances at Peter.

82. 
    

83. PETER (Cont'd): My elder son boarded here from P.1. It's a very good school.

84. 
    

85. They inch forward.

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87. PETER (Cont'd): All that tradition, the history...it lit a fire under him. It helped develop his potential, his quality.

88. 
    

89. PETER (V.O.): And now, he's a very smart lawyer.

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91. A car approaches, comes to a stop, and then begins to reverse.

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93. CHONG: We can't squeeze through, and another car is following right behind us.

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95. PETER (V.O.): The goal of modern life is to feel big - through screens, status, and noise. The goal of wisdom is to feel appropriately small - through nature, silence and awe.

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97. Their EV finally breaks free of the congestion.

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99. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): An appropriately small life isn't a life of little ambition, but one of immense perspective, where ambition serves meaning, not the other way around.

100. 
     

101. Act 3

102. 
     

103. INT. BEDROOM -21:45

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105. Peter uploads an image, depicting the tranquil St. Stephen's Bay to a draft on his laptop.

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107. PETER (V.O.): Parenting is the long loving lesson in becoming appropriately small in my children's world, so they can grow large in their own.

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109. Thinking.

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111. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A great legacy isn't monument that makes others feel small, but a foundation that allows them to stand tall, having long forgotten the hand that laid the stone.

112. 
     

113. Reflecting.

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115. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The wisdom of age is the understanding that I was never the lead character in the world's history, but I had the profound privilege of being a crucial one in a few.

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117.  FADE OUT

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119. END