FADE IN.
Act 1
EXT. ESTATE ROAD - DAY
Waiting inside a car, PETER checks his phone mails.
PETER (V.O.): Oh, JR Inn has just responded to my 5-star review - looking forward to seeing me again.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I posted my review of the Inn in early Feb, 2020
Peter taps the Google Maps icon and sees some statistics.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, my reviews posted in Google Maps have so far received 1,778,101 views; and my photos 42,592, 803 views.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I haven't contributed for many months now.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Apart from helping the viewers, the statistics actually don't touch and concern me.
Act 2
EXT. ROADS - LATER
Peter is driving.
PETER (V.O.): The last time I drove in Japan was in Dec 2019, when my family was motoring from Tokyo to Aomori and return.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Just a month before that, I visited my elder daughter in Fukuoka.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was fun that we drove to the Aomori Airport to pick her up. She flew from Fukuoka to Aomori to join us.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I also meant to visit her again in March 2020, seeing the Sakura blossoms there at the same time.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And she planned to come home in April 2020 for a break from her intensive Japanese studies.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As I used to travel monthly, I visited Tokyo again in Jan 2020. Even after the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak, I managed to visit Hokkaido in Feb 2020.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For my Feb 2020 trip, I used my mileages to redeem my flight tickets: Hong Kong - Tokyo - Chitose - Tokyo - Hong Kong.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As my flight from Tokyo to Chitose would only land around 10.pm, and my departing flight days later at around 10am, I arranged my 1st and last night stays at JR Inn, Chitose. The Inn was just a few kilometers from the New Chitose Airport.
Recalling.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was a very nice hotel. During the peak season, it was great value for money.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I didn't expect that the pandemic has made JR Inn the last hotel I stayed since then.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Travel restrictions and domestic self-isolation dictate that I couldn't visit my elder daughter last March and she wouldn't come home last April.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): During our Chinese New Year virtual greetings, I was pleasantly surprised when she introduced her Korean boyfriend to us.
Pausing.
PETER (VO.) (Cont'd): They're classmates. They both have achieved the common objective to master their Japanese language proficiency.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As they began looking for jobs in Japan, I suggested to them that I'd support them if they want to start up their own business.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Yesterday, I learned that her boyfriend had already flown back to Korea as his father was sick.
Sighing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It must be very hard for my little girl. And this is just the beginning of their endurance test.
Peter drives inside an estate.
Act 3
EXT. ESTATE ROAD - CONTINUOUS
Peter stops before a pedestrian crossing.
PETER (V.O.): My elder daughter will be having recruitment interviews soon.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Although finding a good job anywhere is never easy, she only needs one vacancy.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Putting her mind in her goals as always, I'm confident that she's capable of achieving anything.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Days ago, she sent back a photo depicting Sakura blossoms in Fukuoka. I've missed seeing Sakura blossoms in Japan since 2020.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): She'll be at her best. She's my daughter.
Peter's car enters a car park.
FADE OUT.
THE END
