Practising Splendour
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. BATHROOM - 17:15
Modern and tidy. PETER stands before the mirror, holding a silver King flute, its keys gleaming under the warm lamplight. Before him are a single sheet of sheet music: Love Is a Many- Splendoured Thing, and a Pad screen showing a flute fingering chart.
PETER (V.O.): My first attempt to play a song with three flats and one sharp.
He takes a slow, centering breath. He plays a note. It's an Eb.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It sounds reasonably clean.
He adjusts his fingers, plays another. A Bb.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A bit of a squeak.
He takes a moment, stares at the chart, then corrects it. He moves to Ab.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Clear.
Phrase by phrase, he plays the song's melody to its conclusion.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm gratified.
Act 2
FLASHBACK
INT. HOTEL ROOM, CALTON CITY, SINGAPORE - 09:30 (Oct 2, 2026)
The scene is brighter, the air carries the distant hum of city. Peter sits at a desk, researching with his smart phone. The title "Love Is a Many-Splendoured Thing" is visible on a webpage.
PETER (V.O.): Han Suyin...many-splendored...where does that come from?
He clicks another link.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The phrasing, many-splendoured, isn't just beautiful, it's abundant...complicated. I wonder how Han thought of it.
His eyes scan the screen.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):Oh, this is fascinating. Han was a doctor-author. Born in China. Raised in Belgium...she's Eurasian.
He continues reading.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):...After Hong Kong in the early 1950s, she spent time in Singapore...She was involved in the founding of Nanyang University...
Peter shares the links with his WIFE who has just woken up.
PETER: We've no plan this afternoon. Why don't we...follow Han Suyin...?
WIFE: Who's Han Suyin? A Korean?
PETER: I've just studied her...you read my shared links and her story...
MONTAGE OF THEIR AD HOC AFTERNOON TRIP
A, They enter at Chinatown SMRT station and exit at Pioneer SMRT station.
B. At a Pioneer bus-stop, they take a University free shuttle to the campus.
C. Alighting at Hall 1, they map their way to the Heritage Gardens, which are beautiful and serene.
D. Then, they walk towards an older building that seems to be a gallery for the 1950s cultural heritage.
END MONTAGE
INT. CHINESE HERITAGE CENTRE - 16:30
Quiet. They enter the lobby. They see on display a few black-and-white photos, a few old articles and some names on a plague.
PETER: The doors to rooms are locked and the staircase blocked...
Then, they see a notice: Exhibition permanantly closed.
WIFE: That's a let down.
PETER: No more Chinese heritage.
Still, they scan every photo, every caption, every name.
PETER (Cont'd): Not a single mention. The doctor-author who helped this place happen...
They soon leave the Centre.
PETER (V.O.): Many-splendoured includes absence and disappointment...
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My wife's willingness to follow me should be celebrated.
PETER: Let's go to the Sands Casino...I believe it's always open.
They wait at a campus bus-stop and then board another free University shuttle.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I've to accept that splendoured is not only beauty; it is also impermanence.
RETURN TO PRESENT
Act 3
INT. BEDROOM -22:15
Peter uploads a photo to a draft on his laptop. It shows the Nanyang University, founded in 1955, practising splendour through the effort of ordinary Southeast Asian Chinese who ralled to build the first Chinese-language university outside China.
PETER (V.O.): Practice is how the ordinary becomes abundant: one note, then another, until love has somewhere to live.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Legacy is often uncredited; splendour is what grows anyway. To trace someone's footsteps without finding them is still a form of devotion.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing is mine when I practise it and keep going.
The END
FADE OUT
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