Kaji: The Suitcase Season
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Aug 10
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. HOME - DAY (A week ago)
Dark. The rain doesn't fall - it punishes. A relentless drumming on windows. Thunders crack the sky like a whip, while lightning flickers like a dying bulb. KAJI sits nervously at the door.
KAJI (V.O.): I guard the door not because I fear the Pack Leader and Peter won't come back, but because I know they will.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): The certainty of return makes the waiting bearable, yet the waiting itself makes time unbearable.
Pondering.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): Yet, their hands in my fur will make time stop altogether.
Pondering.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): The bad weather will end. Suitcases will be emptied. And soon, the leash will click again.
Pondering.
KAJI (V.O.) (Cont'd): And I'd bury my nose in their returning clothes, searching for proof that this time, they'll stay - knowing all scents eventually fade.
Act 2
INT. RIVERSIDE PARK - EVENING (Days ago)
Bathed in soft golden light as the sun sets. The gentle sound of flowing water mingles with the rustle of leaves in the breeze. MAIDS gather for picnics on the grass. Kaji trots ahead of the PACK LEADER and PETER.
KAJI (V.O): I love to sniff the air, taking in every new scent - fresh earth, blooming flowers, and the hint of water.
Sniffing.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): Pleasant aromas again.
The Pack Leader and Peter stroll leisurely behind Kaji.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): Every sound and sight excite me. This is where I belong.
FLASHBACK
INT. HOME - DAY & NIGHT (Before the return of the Pack Leader and Peter)
Rain hammers the windows. Thunder growls. Kaji's MAID sits on the floor, offering a chew toy. But Kaji is distracted.
KAJI (V.O): It appears that the Pack Leader is calling me through a box.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): A voice through a box is a shadow of love.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): Real love has hands that smell like walks and laundry.
Kaji rests her head on her Maid's knee.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): The sky has been very angry.
Later, Kaji enters the Maid's room to join her.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): When the sky cracks open, I learn to love the warmth of my maid.
END FLASHBACK
INT. HOME - EVENING (Yesterday)
The maid wheels a suitcase toward the door. Kaji tilts her head.
KAJI (V.O): Carrying a suitcase? It always seemed to be in her room. What could she be doing?
PACK LEADER (To Kaji): Come and say goodbye...
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): No, she holds her suitcase tight and wouldn't bend down for a quick pat.
Kaji stays rooted.
PACK LEADER (To Maid): She knows you're leaving for good...
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): I don't get it... she has been my maid since I was a girl.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): How long do I have to wait for her return?
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): I measure time in suitcases packed and unpacked.
Pausing.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): The more suitcases I see, the more I understand about goodbyes - and the less any of it makes sense.
Thinking.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): When loved ones are gone, I don't exist in the same way - for my being is always being-with.
Act 3
INT. HOME - NIGHT
Kaji rests on a sofa, comfortably nestled between the Pack Leader and Peter.
KAJI (V.O): Every homecoming presupposes a departure - yet I love as if neither were inevitable.
Thinking.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): The suitcase season taught me this: Joy is a verb. It's the act of pressing my whole weight against loved ones who're finally home.
Reflecting.
KAJI (V.O) (Cont'd): Every suitcase teaches the same lesson: nothing stays, but everything returns - changed.
FADE OUT
THE END
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