Dreamy Reality
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Jul 2, 2020
- 2 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. SLEEPING ROOM - DAY
Waking up, Peter checks the time.
PETER (V.O.): Oh, it's just sometime after six. Let me sleep again.
Peter sleeps.
DREAM SEQUENCE.
INT. OFFICE - DAY
In front of a WOMAN, Peter is writing something on a piece of paper. Then he looks perplexed.
PETER (V.O.): How come the lines that I've just written have disappeared?
PETER: Have you seen where my lines have gone?
The woman is expressionless.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Strange. I did write something. But now they're gone without a trace. How could this happen?
Peter re-writes again.
END DREAM SEQUENCE
Peter wakes up again.
PETER (V.O.): Oh, I've just had a dream.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd) : I've the eerie emotion. In my dream, it was so clear and distinct.
Shaking his head.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): By doing reality check, I usually find out if I'm dreaming. But not this time.
Pondering.
Act 2
FLASHBACK
EXT. PUBLIC BATH - DAY
Closed. Peter checks the opening hours.
PETER (V.O.): It opens at 4:30 pm. I've heard that this is the last public bath in Hong Kong.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've images of a strange public bath in my mind. I am not sure if they were images that I captured in reality a long time ago or just the illusory images from my dream.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I want to do a reality check.
MONTAGE
1. Peter enters an old building nearby to see a Water Exhibition.
2 Peter studies every exhibit and the accompanying texts there.
3. Peter takes photos of the building before leaving.
4. Waiting in a nearby garden, Peter checks the time.
END MONTAGE
Stepping inside the public bath, Peter looks disillusioned.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): No, it's very different from the surreal images in my mind. I now know that those mages aren't real.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me have a bath and feel the clear and distinct reality.
Peter begins to undress.
END FLASHBACK
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It wasn't long ago that I replied to a Quoran that from an individual's perception, anything can disappear anytime.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'll explore further between dream and reality. To find out which is which, I've to check habitually their coherence with my waking life.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But while I'm dreaming, I may not be able to detect the incoherence like disappearance of writings.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Is there a better and simpler way to distinguish between dream and reality? Like pinching myself?
INT. RESTAURANT - DAY
Peter checks a phone notification.
PETER (V.O.): A friend has advised that the Police arrested the suspect who had stabbed a police officer during a riot yesterday. The suspect's flight for London was about to depart.
Reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But how would the suspect be allowed to board the flight with an expired BNO passport? Am I dreaming now?
Peter pinches himself and looks painful.
Act 3
INT. STUDY - DAY
Peter is watching YouTube music videos on the TV. We hear the song: Dream A Little Dream Of Me.
PETER (V.O.): One of my favourites in the 1960s. Did anyone dream a little dream of me at all?
We hear the next number: Devoted To The One I Love. Peter smiles.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's so sweet to hear the golden oldies in the 1960s. All of a sudden, I feel young again - a dreamy reality.
INT. SLEEPING ROOM - NIGHT
Peter goes to bed.
PETER (V.O.): Time for my dreaming life again.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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