Kaji: The Light Is Wrong
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. HOME - MORNING
A silver of grey morning light forces its way through a gap in the curtains. It lands on the nose of KAJI. Her eyes are open. She's perfectly still.
KAJI (V.O.): The light is wrong. The light should be on the dining table by now.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): Peter should be sharing bread with me. This is The Way. The routine is sacred.
Kaji goes to the bedroom. Her gaze is fixed on the humans in bed. They are mountains of blankets.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): Only Peter's messy hair is visible.
A digital clock on the bedside table reads 07:23.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): I feel my stomach giving a soft, internal rumble.
Kaji gazes in the direction of Peter again.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): I can hear the slow, rhythmic sound of Peter's breathing.
Act 2
FLASHBACK
INT. HOME - LAST NIGHT
Kaji rests in bed alone, he tail curled over her back.
KAJI (V.O.): Peter doesn't follow me to this sleeping place at the proper time.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd):The glowing rectangle holds him hostage long after the dark came.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): He stays. He taps. He doesn't sleep.
Pausing.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't understand why their rectangles glow.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): When the maid isn't home, the Pack Leader serves my lunch, although it's often delayed.
RETURN TO PRESENT
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): Right now, I'm worried about my breakfast plan with Peter today.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): I can make a few barks and whines to wake him up.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): But he's tired.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't fix his tiredness. I honor it.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): Sleep, Peter. Our breakfast can wait.
Kaji turns and walks back to the living room.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): The light is wrong. But I'm right here. And that's enough.
She returns to her post on the floor.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): Structure provides comfort, but love sometimes requires bending the rules.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm a sentient being with my own perspective, not just a furry accessory to their lives.
Kaji lowers her head back onto her paws.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): The light doesn't lie. It tells me when the routine is broken. I know this, but they forget.
Her eyes slide shut.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): Actually, the light simply tells me what is. What I do with that information - whether to wake Peter and let him sleep - that's who I'm.
The room is still. Kaji gives a quiet sigh.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): Even if the light was wrong, I made it right by doing nothing at all.
Act 3
INT. HOME - CONTINUOUS
The sun has moved. The bright patch on the floor now a different shape. Kaji waits.
KAJI (V.O.): "The light is wrong" is not a complaint. It's an observation. The world has shifted, and I'm the only one who noticed.
Thinking.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm willing to see the world as it is, not as it should be, and to respond not with frustration, but with grace.
Reflecting.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): To notice that the light is wrong is to be fully alive. To act on it with compassion is to be fully love.
FADE OUT
THE END
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