top of page
Search
Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

Embracing the Now

  1. FADE IN


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. LIVING ROOM/LOBBY - 09:00


  4. Having packed his swimming gear, PETER leaves to take the lift.


  5. PETER (V.O.): Let me take my wife's car lift and go swimming in Island South.


  6. As the lift stops on a floor, a MAN with a walking support device and his MAID enter slowly. The man and Peter have eye contacts.


  7. MAN: You go swimming?


  8. PETER: Yes...


  9. MAN: Swimming is good...I wasn't like this several months ago...it's Parkinson disease...I can stand without any support device....


  10. PETER: It's better to walk safely...My Mum, 90+, fell days ago and had an operation...


  11. Reaching the ground floor lobby, the lift door opens.


  12. MAN: You go first...


  13. PETER: Thanks...


  14. Act 2


  15. EXT. ST. STEPHEN'S BAY - 11:30


  16. Scenic. Peter is leisurely swimming without the presence of a lifeguard.


  17. PETER (V.O.): I can't resist the temptation to swim here.


  18. Peter glides through the tranquil water with ease.


  19. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm confident with my swimming ability.


  20. Peter immerses his head in the water.


  21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The water is clear and cool.


  22. Later, Peter climbs up a round floating platform, lies flat and gazes at the vast sky.


  23. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Here's heaven on earth to me. I feel I'm connected with the beautiful nature.


  24. Later, Peter swims back to the beach at his own pace.


  25. EXT. MILITARY CEMETARY, STANLEY - 12:30


  26. Well-tended lawn. Landscaped garden. Dignified and reverential atmosphere.


  27. PETER (V.O.): I came here once when my son was studying in a nearby college.


  28. Peter walks past a central memorial.


  29. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I read that some Canadians first fought the WWII in Hong Kong.


  30. Peter walks to Plots 5-6. We see rows of uniform markers.


  31. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They came all the way from Canada and some departed their lives in Stanley in December 1941.


  32. Peter checks the names, ranks and dates of birth and death on headstones.


  33. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Must combatants suffer and die to bear the wounds and scars of wars?


  34. Thinking.


  35. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Living in peace time, I'm older than all of them. Should I live as if I'm to die tomorrow?


  36. Recalling.


  37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yesterday, I learn from the news about US' supply of arms to Vietnam.


  38. Pausing.


  39. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If it's a strategic turnaround, what were the combatants actually fighting for during the Vietnam war?


  40. Pausing.


  41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Did those who made the ultimate sacrifice have done good for their countries or world peace?


  42. Pausing.


  43. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Why only the dead can rest in peace?


  44. Thinking.


  45. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Why can't living beings rest in place of peace and tranquility, free from unnecessary suffering and deaths?


  46. Reflecting.


  47. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Am I fully present in the now?


  48. Pausing.


  49. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Do I believe that the next moment must be more important than the present one?


  50. Act 3


  51. INT. LIVING ROOM/LOBBY - 22:00

  52. Having input the prompt: "Embracing the Now" in an AI art generator in his smartphone, Peter sees a cubist image appearing.


  53. PETER (V.O.): Embracing the now brings me closer to myself and others.


  54. Pausing.


  55. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Connecting the past with the future, this is the power of now.


  56. Thinking.


  57. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The now is a gift, a moment to be fully alive and engaged. I'm going to pick up my returning daughter at the Airport.


  58. Exiting the lobby, Peter walks towards the carpark.


  59. FADE OUT


  60. THE END




























































4 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page