One Birthday
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- Apr 18
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. LIVING ROOM - 11:30 (Yesterday)
Soft grey light filters through the curtains. PETER stares at his phone's calendar.
PETER (V.O.): About our grandchild to be born and this year's cherry blossoms...
Daydreaming.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): What if our grandchild comes - not dangerously early. Not prematurely...
Daydreaming.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Just...efficiently...healthy, loud and perfect... before the due date.
Daydreaming.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): So that my wife and I can fly to Hokkaido to see the cherry blossoms as planned. Non-refundable air tickets used. Not wasted.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Our grandchild was smart enough not to come yesterday when her mother had an important exam.
Act 2
INT. BEDROOM - 07:58 (Today)
Peter checks a WhatsApp message: Water broke. Heading to the hospital now.
PETER (V.O.): Hmm...my elder son sent the message hours ago.
Peter researches with his phone and reads the results.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My daughter-in-law will likely deliver within the next 12-18 hours.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Daydreams and possibilities are sometimes the same thing.
Peter smiles.
FLASHBACK
INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY (A fortnight ago)
Peter sits on the sofa with his WIFE.
PETER: About our late April trip to Hokkaido...
WIFE: Air tickets bought nearly 10 months ago. Non-refundable.
PETER: The price was right. But the period overlaps with our daugher-in-law's due date.
WIFE: We've discussed this...
WIFE (Cont'd): We can chase cherry blossoms every year. But we only get one day our grandchild arrives...
PETER: I think we forgo the trip...
PETER (V.O.): The non-refundable air tickets are things. Our grandchild's breath isn't a thing. It's the only thing.
WIFE: We wait until April 20...
Peter nods.
PETER: I've researched that babies born on their due date account for about 5-6% of births.
RETURN TO PRESENT
MONTAGE OF PETER AND HIS WIFE AT A HOSPITAL
A. Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology - 18:30. Peter and his wife find their way.
B. Hallway - 18:45. They and their elder SON discuss seriouly before son returns to the labour ward.
C. Hallway: 19:30. The son comes out from the labour ward with big smiles. They hug.
D. Hallway. 20:20. They have a glimpse of the proud MOTHER and her NEWBORN on a patient trolley being transferred to another ward.
END MONTAGE
INT. PICI - 21:00
Elegant. Soft light. Peter and his wife sit at a corner table. A single candle between them.
PETER: To our grandchild.
They touch glasses.
PETER (Cont'd): To the only birthday that matters.
Then, they notice two WAITRESSES serve a small birthday cake to a table of six nearby. And they sing: Happy Birthday to you...The TABLE cheers. A WOMAN (30s) thanks them.
Later, the sound repeats again - this time farther from their table. Peter doesn't bother to turn around.
PETER (V.O.): There is only one birthday. Today proved it. Our grandchild was born. This is a birthday. Others are fakes.
Act 3
INT. LIVING ROOM - 23:30
Peter uploads an image to a draft on his laptop. It shows a small birthday cake candle lit atop a cake slice placed on a plate.
PETER (V.O.): There is only one birthday. The day when one was born. Every "birthday" after that is an anniversary of a birthday. Which is a different thing.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): One birthday. One truth. All the rest is love dressed up as tradition - and that's fine too.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A grandchild's birth is a real birthday. Everything else - every dinner, every cake, every song - is just loving repetition.
The END
FADE OUT
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