The 34th Summer

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. LIVING ROOM - 11:30

6. 
   

7. Sunlight streams through the window. PETER sits on the sofa, maintaining his Duolingo streaks. His WIFE is about to leave home.

8. 
   

9. PETER: The Sealion7 should be ready for collection this evening. You'd go pick it up?

10. 
    

11. WIFE: Not by myself... New windscreen. New cameras. I need a second pair of eyes.

12. 
    

13. Peter nods, unable to say anything.

14. 
    

15. PETER (V.O.): Today is the anniversary of the day Sharon passed away. Every August, I try to keep myself busy to ease the grief.

16. 
    

17. Pausing.

18. 
    

19. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But this summer, I feel different-especially after celebrating our grandchild's 100 days.

20. 
    

21. Pausing.

22. 
    

23. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Peace isn't forgetting. Peace is sitting down to play "A Summer Place" and other songs in my mental list-that Sharon would love and would be surprised that I can play them on piano.

24. 
    

25.  Act 2

26. 
    

27. INT. LIVING ROOM - 12:30

28. 
    

29. Peter sits before an upright piano. He lifts the lid. He rests his fingers on the keys.

30. 
    

31. MONTAGE OF SHARON PLAYING A SUMMER PLACE FOR PETER 1974.

32. 
    

33. Her home. The sound of a piano fills the room. A bright youthful melody. "A Summer Place" It's SHARON (20) playing effortlessly on a different piano.

34. 
    

35. END MONTAGE

36. 
    

37. PETER (V.O.): I asked Sharon to play it for me. Her sight reading was excellent.

38. 
    

39. Peter's hands begin to move. He plays "A Summer Place" reasonably well.

40. 
    

41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I found an online tutorial I really liked and started learning the piece back in 2021.

42. 
    

43. Recalling.

44. 
    

45. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The keyboards in our homes had sit untouched since 1991. By early 1992, Sharon was too sick to play.

46. 
    

47. Recalling.

48. 
    

49. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): By default, I didn't touch the keyboards as I hadn't learned how to play. I knew I'd never be as good as Sharon.

50. 
    

51. Recalling.

52. 
    

53. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Then I found the keys were stucked. To make them work, I had to play-and ever since then, I haven't stopped.

54. 
    

55. Pausing.

56. 
    

57. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Apart from "A Summer Place", I can now play the bossa nova tune of "The Girl from Ipenema", and the jazzy standards of "Misty" and "Autumn Leaves".

58. 
    

59. EXT. SILVERSTRAND BAY - 16:45

60. 
    

61. A red flag snaps violently in the wind. Peter swims, reaches one of the floating platforms and hauls himself up.

62. 
    

63. PETER (V.O.): Wow, the platform sways violently. He lies flat on his back, looking at the clouds racing overhead.

64. 
    

65. Pausing.

66. 
    

67. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I played for over three hours. My wrists ache, My back is stiff. For the first time in 34 years, the silence in my head isn't deafening. It's just...quiet.

68. 
    

69. Then, we hear from a distant megaphone: Attention all swimmers. Return to the shore immediately. The waves are big...

70. 
    

71. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's a reminder that I'm still here. Still accountable. Still capable of swimming back.

72. 
    

73. He slides into the water, keeping his eyes focused on the red flag.

74. 
    

75. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): As my beacon.

76. 
    

77. EXT. RIVERSIDE PARK - 20:15

78. 
    

79. Dark. Peter sits on a bench with Kaji, the family pet.

80. 
    

81. PETER (V.O.): My wife has gone to a takeaway store to buy her coffee.

82. 
    

83. Pausing.

84. 
    

85. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Opening my heart to new love doesn't diminish the old love. Moving forward isn't a betrayal. It's survival.

86. 
    

87. Pausing.

88. 
    

89. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And it's possible to hold two profound loves simultaneously without conflict.

90. 
    

91. Peter pulls out his phone and begins to draft his docudrama on screen.

92. 
    

93. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was around this time-34 years ago-that Sharon took her last breath and left me and our son.

94. 
    

95. Pausing.

96. 
    

97. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): From the quantum physics perspective, I now believe atoms can't be "replaced" and that her love for me and our son still exists-still around-somewhere beyond the reach of time.

98. 
    

99. Pausing.

100. 
     

101. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The 34th summer wasn't the summer I stopped missing Sharon. It was the summer I stopped punishing myself for being here.

102. 
     

103. Act 3

104. 
     

105. INT. BEDROOM -22:00

106. 
     

107. Peter uploads an image to a draft on his laptop. It shows on the far side of the Silverstrand Beach, a red flag flying against the wind, warning every swimmer to respect the danger beneath its churning surface.

108. 
     

109. PETER (V.O.): Healing comes when I stop trying to live in the past and instead carry its best parts forward in the future.

110. 
     

111. Thinking.

112. 
     

113. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Our son became a father. My daughter-in-law loves him the way Sharon loved me. That's not an ending. That's a counter-melody.

114. 
     

115. Reflecting.

116. 
     

117. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The greatest tribute I can give Sharon is to teach our grandchild the song "A Summer Place" she played for me. Music doesn't belong to the past. It belongs to whoever is brave enough to play it next.

118. 
     

119. The END

120. 
     

121. FADE OUT