FADE IN
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM - 09:00
Alarm clock sound. PETER observes his waking WIFE.
PETER (V.O.): My wife begins her week-long remote work today.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Instead of visiting beaches again this week, I've to stay home too.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We're being subjected to quarantine orders. Our domestic helper has been infected with Covid-19 virus.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She wasn't well for days. Before my son coming home for dinner yesterday, my wife asked her to do a RAT. While the C-line in the test cassette was clearly visible, the T-line was very faint.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As our domestic helper interpreted that as having no problem, we asked her to do two more RATs and the results were the same.
Act 2
INT. DINING ROOM - 09:15
Peter, his wife and KAJI, the family pet, are having breakfast.
PETER (V.O.): My wife insisted that she'd go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for us.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As she likes cooking, she knows she has a higher risk than me to get infected.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): To minimize my risk, I've been staying in the master bedroom most of the time since yesterday.
Finishing breakfast, they do their RATs.
PETER: I've just one visible C-line. You too?
WIFE: Yes.
Peter's wife puts food and drink at a closed room door before calling their domestic helper to get them.
PETER (V.O.): But our domestic helper has to use the common corridor to go to the toilet.
INT. SITTING ROOM - LATER
As his wife begins working, Peter checks his diary on screen.
PETER (V.O.): I've to send an apology to a HKUST function. I meant to have a chat with the outgoing HKUST's President. Tough luck.
Having sent a mail, Peter checks Quora and sees dozens of new answer requests.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's good to interact with the world while I'm on quarantine.
INT. BEDROOM - 12:30
Peter begins to play the flute.
PETER (V.O.): I haven't played it last week as I was going out and about after our first quarantine.
Peter blows the melody of "Butterfly Love" in the amateurish way.
INT. MASTER BATHROOM - LATER
Entering, Peter sees in the bathtub, a bigger turtle resting in a corner and a smaller one stretching its hind legs.
PETER (V.O.): She's so relaxed. Yesterday, we're so pre-occupied with our domestic helper's condition.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Although our pet turtles were confined for the day, my wife fed them an extra meal as compensation.
After capturing a photo of the smaller turtle, Peter gives shoulder massages to the two turtles.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They enjoy that - they're knowledgeable and wise enough.
Enters Peter's wife.
WIFE: The authority has just ferried our domestic helper to the Covid-19 isolation facility.
Peter looks pleased.
WIFE (Cont'd): Hours ago, she still sent me an image of her RAT in which the C-line was visible but the T-line was very faint.
PETER: We can't afford to turn a blind eye to the evidence, putting us at a higher risk. Let me help sanitize the premises.
WIFE: No! It's very risky. Let me do it alone.
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS
Holding a black and white violin bass guitar, Peter plays the riffs of the Beatles' song "Come Together" with the support of a mini amplifier.
PETER (V.O.): I'll practise the musical instruments at my own pace. But I shouldn't stop.
Later, Peter plays electric solo with a SE rhythm guitar with the support of a small amplifier. We hears melodic fingerings.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): To move forward, a turtle has to stick its neck out first. And no matter how slow is the pace, forward is forward.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): During quarantine, I try to be like a turtle - at ease in my own shell.
Smiling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Meanwhile, let me offer to give a shoulder massage to my dear wife.
THE END
.
FADE OUT
