Emotional Toll
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Apr 25, 2020
- 3 min read
FADE IN.
Act 1
INT. STUDY - DAY
PETER is watching news. We see the image of TRUMP speaking with the subtitle: sarcism over disinfectants.
PETER (V.O.): Trump wants to instil hope as Americans are suffering from emotional toll during the pandemic.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As it is against common sense and has been refuted by scientisits and manufacters generally, he has to retract quick to mitigate the damages.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But repeated disappointment will discourage and frustrate people, leading to resentment and anger.
Peter takes a look of his phone screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The 2020 pandemic has turned the world upside down. Many Quorans pose questions to me. As an old man, I try to encourage them to think positive and act creatively.
Peter scrolls down his phone screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me answer some of the questions, giving a little help to my Quoran fans.
Act 2
Peter types on his phone.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Judging from the string of similar questions, many people have no idea what they should do during the quarantines here and there.
Peter continues to type.
Peter (V.O.) (Cont'd): I need eight days a week. The quarantines in effect let me have the extra time to do what I want to do.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm being surrounded by half a dozen guitars. There's so much to learn and practise just on one musical instrument.
Peter continues to type.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): If they don't have any musical instrument to play, I'd encourage them to compose a song. Few people have ever thought about that. The key is: Don't limit one's challenge, but to challenge one's limit.
Peter taps Submit.
INT. SITTING ROOM - DAY
Fast food is placed on the table. KAJI, the family pet, takes the Chairman seat.
PETER (V.O.): Let me feature Kaji in an answer about fun activities at home during the lockdown.
Peter takes a photo of Kaji while she's staring at the food.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): One picture is worth a 1000 words. I would also mention our relationship, including my soft bullying - treating her bottom as my nap pillow.
After inserting the image to a draft answer on his phone screen, Peter taps Submit.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I hope my answers would help relieve some readers' emotional toll.
Peter checks a phone notification.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Well, someone has responded to one of my earlier answers.
Peter reads the texts on his phone screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was hypothesizing about the residial value of senior citizens in the pandemic. If there was a choice as to which age group should die to save the world, should senior citizens like me be chosen so as not to strain the health systems?
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She was saying from her ecological and archaeological perspective that those below the age of 5 should be sacrificed as little has been invested in them and they're easliy substitutable.
Peter is hand on cheek.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): From the civilised right-to-life perspective, there isn't any effective equality of opportunity.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Different value assumptions lead to different logical and valid conclusions.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Anyway, some food for thought.
Peter finishes his food and leaves the table.
Act 3
INT. STUDY - DAY
A doctor is being interviewed on TV.
PETER (V.O.): Yes, doctors and health workers have to face the emotional toll too. They were the last faces that dying coronavirus patients could see.
We hear a TV commentator's humble and thankful remarks: Doctor, you're the best of us.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Quite right. My younger son will be among them in due course. How to escape from the emotional toll then?
Peter taps his phone screen casually.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've lots of questions seeking my opinions what to do, where to go, when the pandemic is over etc. But clinical trials of vacinnes have just started...
Peter is reading a Quoran question.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What was the most eye-opening experience you've had while on vacation?
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I visited Inner Mongolia in 2015, I was struck to see a standard swimming pool in the middle of a desert resort in Ordos. Let me mine the photo that speaks 1000 words.
Peter taps the Google Photo App icon on his phone screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yes, I feel good to see the photo, not to mention the memory that it has triggered.
After inserting the photo and adding a few lines, Peter taps Submit. He then gets a drink, has a piece of chocolate and then watches TV.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Inner Mongolia is worth revisiting. I should go again when it is safe to travel.
As TV commercial begins, Peter resumes his phone screen time.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh my god! My "eye-opening" answer has attracted 2.1k views in less than an hour! My new record!
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe people during the lockdowns would yearn for such a fused experience between nature and humankind. My photo has provided a temporary escape for those suffering from the emotional toll.
Picking up a guitar, Peter begins to strum.
FADE OUT.
THE END
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