No Point to Change
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. BEDROOM/LIVING ROOM - 10:00
No sunlight. PETER sits up in bed, scrolls his phone. A FB clip stops him: These chords will melt your heart. We follow Peter to stare at a man's hand on a keyboard, shifting gently.
PETER (V.O.): Fm (Add 2/4), Db Maj7, Bbm 9, C7. Back to Fm.
He swings his legs out of the bed, goes to the living room, begins playing the chords.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Nice and easy to learn.
Later, his WIFE comes out and relaxes on a massage chair. Peter continues to play the chord progression. Softly. Softly.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I can play them cleanly now. I should go swimming
He turns to watch his wife.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, she's asleep again...perhaps my playing is too soothing.
Peter grabs the car key and leaves.
Act 2
EXT. SILVERSTRAND BAY/ CAR PARK - 14:50
Grey sky. Peter wades in without hesitation.
PETER (V.O.): No red flag.
Peter swims breaststroke out to the buoys, then freestyle along them and then hauls himself up a floating plaftorm. He lies on his back.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): This afternoon, I don't have to use my hands to cover my face.
He stares at the dark clouds.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The rainstorm will come soon.
He gets down from the platform, swims backstroke and then butterflystyle back to the shore.
As Peter picks up his swim bag, the rain begins. Not as a drizzle. Heavy. Dense.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The rain doesn't care if I'm ready.
He looks up.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): No point to change now.
Thunder cracks. Not distant.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Wow, right overhead.
He walks toward the hillside stairs. Concrete. Quite steep.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): 175 steps to the car park. I can't run up anymore.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Even if I could, I know running is just a faster way to get wet.
The rain soaks through his swimming brief. Water streams down his skin.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): At 72, I stop fighting the rain. I've survived worse things than rain.
At the top, he unlocks his car. Gets in. Water pools on the seat.
EXT. ROADS - 15:25
The wipers struggle at full speed. Traffic creeps. Peter turns on the radio. We soon hear:..and this morning, lightning struck the Shatin swimming pool. Remarkably, no injuries were reported.
PETER (V.O.): The lightning struck Shatin. Not Silverstrand. No reasons.
Peter's hands tighten on the steering wheel.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): At Silverstrand, I was very exposed.
He exhales slowly.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Survival is often random. I won't mix luck with invincibility.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I always remember my matriculation classmates - Chan King-chow and Wu Shue-fun. Luck wasn't on their side in 1974 at Lantau Peak.
INT. LIVING ROOM - 17:30
Rain hammers the windows. Peter plays the piano. His wife revises her Korean study notes. They stay like that.
PETER (V.O.): We never stay in on Saturdays.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): This Saturday is different.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The day feels strange.
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM - 22:10
Peter uploads an image to a draft on his laptop. It shows the Silverstrand Bay under a cloudy, muted sky with calm gray-blue waters, two floating platforms.
PETER (V.O.): Change is overrated. Presence is not.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): This Saturday is memorable as my wife and I are awake, aware and together under the same roof while the rain rages outside.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The strangeness of the day becomes valuable because it happened.
The END
FADE OUT
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