Next Time
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 12 minutes ago
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM - 21:00
A warm, cluttered room. PETER wears reading glasses and a contented smile. He sits up in bed, holding a smartphone. He scrolls through cherry blossom photos.
PETER (V.O.): These were taken at Goryokaku Fort at Hakodate.
Looking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The cheery trees in full bloom.
Pausing.
PETER (Cont'd): My wife and I arrived Haneda in the evening of April 24, took a domestic flight to Sapporo the next day, got our rental car and drove to Hakodate, and visited the Fort on April 26.
Peter checks a photo of him rowing a boat. He smiles.
PETER (Cont'd): My wife took this photo - the first time I rowed a boat with her in Japan.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I rowed back to the dock in 45 minutes - five minutes ahead of time.
Act 2
FLASHBACK
EXT. GORYOKAKU FORT, HAKODATE - 13:00 (26 April, 2026)
Sunlight through cherry patels. A long queue snakes from a red-roofed boat house. Peter and his wife stand in line. Peter checks the queue ahead.
PETER: We're moving.
WIFE: I know.
Peter shoves his hands in his jacket pockets. Looks at the boats returning to the dock. Some look exhilarated. Some look exhausted.
PETER (V.O.): It's been over half an hour...I'm pleased my wife kept her her promise for next time.
FLASHBACK UPON FLASHBACK
EXT. GORYOKAKU FORT, HAKODATE - DAY (Late April, 2011)
Peter (56) holds an iPad 2, capturing cherry blossoms in full bloom. His wife is also busy with her camera.
,
PETER: Oh, I pan too fast.
He corrects. Then, a woman's voice (Japanese, then English).
WOMAN: Is that the new iPad?
Peter nods. He swings the camera towards the moat. A rowboat glides by. Inside a COUPLE laughs. The man rows with easy rhythm. The woman trails her hand in the water.
PETER: That's living.
Their cameras hold on the boat as it disappears under a canopy of blossoms.
PETER (Cont'd): They're just rowing...Maybe we should...
WIFE: They've the whole afternoon...next time...
PETER: Next time? When?
WIFE: Next time when we come.
PETER: But the blossoms...
WIFE: Will bloom again...we haven't gone up to the observation tower yet!
PETER: Next time...really?
WIFE: Come on. You and your iPad.
END FLASHBACK UPON FLASHBACK
Soon, they're at the head of the queue. Peter pays 3000 yen in cash to a STAFF.
STAFF: No switching.
Peter turns to his wife.
WIFE: Okay, you row for the whole 50 minutes.
Later on the moat. Peter holds two wooden oars. The boat rocks gently. His wife sits on the stern, facing him. She has her phone out, recording.
Peter dips the oars. Pulls. The boat moves forward. Immediately drifts left. He pulls again. The boat turns slightly right. Then starts spinning.
PETER: There's an undercurrent. Probably because of the star-shape.
PETER (V.O.): I rowed whenever I visited Ueno Lake alone. I'll make it.
Later, we see their boat gliding into open water. The observation tower rises in the distance. His wife watches him.
WIFE: We've 20 minutes left. We need time extension...
PETER: No, I can make it!
RETURN TO PRESENT
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 22:15
Peter uploads an image to a draft on his laptop. It's an aerial view of a star-shaped fortress moat lined with blooming white cherry blossom trees, people strolling along the paths and queuing at the red-roofed boat house, with small boats on the water.
PETER (V.O.): We say "next time" as if time were a pocket we can reach into anytime. But it's a melting ice cube. You can't save it for later.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):The heaviest thing you'll ever carry isn't an oar against a current. It's the weight of every "next time" you let become "never".
Reflecting.
The ENDhV.O.) (Cont'd): Love doesn't need grand gestures. It's a man and a woman queuing together - because "next time" is a lie they refuse to tell.
The END
FADE OUT
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