The 5th Platform

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. LIVING ROOM - 1O:10

6. 
   

7. PETER sits on a sofa, holding his smartphone. He reads a message.

8. 
   

9. PETER (V.O.): OMG...my "Third" Auntie passed away. Hours ago.

10. 
    

11. His face falls. A deep, weary sadness settles in his eyes.

12. 
    

13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We just saw her at the Disney Hotel lunch a month ago.

14. 
    

15. Recalling

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Wearing Minnie Ears, she radiated joy and carefree fun.

18. 
    

19. Peter lets out a long, slow breath, staring at nothing.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): One month she's posing with us and Disney characters, the next...

22. 
    

23. After editing an image of his Third Auntie, Peter types and sends his response.

24. 
    

25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I speak from the heart: my beloved Third Auntie will always hold a special place within me.

26. 
    

27. Act 2

28. 
    

29. INT. YUNG'S BISTRO - 12:45

30. 
    

31. An elegant restaurant. Peter sits across from DORA, his good friend. A pot of tea and baskets of dimsum between them.

32. 
    

33. DORA: Busy, busy. Speaking of which, how is your elder daughter? In Seoul?

34. 
    

35. A small, proud smile touches Peter's lips, the first of the day.

36. 
    

37. PETER: Yes. She's got a modern job - providing external networking services.

38. 
    

39. DORA: External networking services?

40. 
    

41. PETER: The service outcome is to create a bridge between a company and the external world to gather intelligence and generate opportunities.

42. 
    

43. Dora nods.

44. 
    

45. PETER (Cont'd): She says while the AI provides the data, she still has to apply her skills and judgment to make her service truly valuable.

46. 
    

47. While Dora signifies her agreement, Peter notices a WAITRESS gracefully refills their tea cups with a quiet smile.

48. 
    

49. PETER (V.O.): Anticipating needs without being asked is a valuable quality.

50. 
    

51. EXT. REPULSE BAY - 16:30

52. 
    

53. The sun is lower, casting a golden glow over the iconic bay. Peter, in swimming trunks, walks to the water's edge.

54. 
    

55. PETER (V.O.): I haven't come here for a while.

56. 
    

57. He wades in and begins a slow, steady breastroke, cutting through the calm bay waters.

58. 
    

59. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me swim out to one of the floating platforms.

60. 
    

61. We see there're five of them, and Peter soon hauls himself onto the first one. He relaxes on it, looking back at the shore,

62. 
    

63. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the summer of 1994, I worked in the then Lido Nightclub as a bar tender and waiter.

64. 
    

65. Recalling.

66. 
    

67. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I considered it a wonderful perk to be able to swim in the bay during my off-duty hours.

68. 
    

69. Recalling.

70. 
    

71. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): However. I lacked swimming skills then, and I had never managed to reach any of the Bay's platforms.

72. 
    

73. Peter then swims freestyle from the first to the second, the third, the fourth and finally the fifth platform. Grabbing the platform ladder, he pulls himself up.

74. 
    

75. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They say every platform holds a memory.

76. 
    

77. Once atop of the platform, Perter takes a moment to catch his breath.

78. 
    

79. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The first is vivid. The second is hazy. The third is a feeling. The fourth is a name.

81. Peter stretches out, letting the sun warm his skin.

82. 
    

83. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The fifth is mere presence - the proof that I existed.

84. 
    

85. He closes his eyes.

86. 
    

87. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I'm a bridge between the young man serving drinks in the sun and the old man basking in its warmth.

88. 
    

89. Pausing.

90. 
    

91. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The fifth platform stands as the pillar where both lives converge.

92. 
    

93. Pausing.

94. 
    

95. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I swam out to forget the news, but on this fifth platform, I remember everything that ever mattered.

96. 
    

97. A soft, bittersweet smile finally graces his face.

98. 
    

99. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Grief is just love with no place to go but back into the water.

100. 
     

101. Act 3

102. 
     

103. INT. LIVING ROOM - 21 :30

104. 
     

105. Peter uploads an image, depicting the fifth platform in Repulse Bay to a draft on his laptop.

106. 
     

107. PETER (V.O.): The fifth platform is the truth I can only reach by crossing the four that came before it: youth, ambition, loss and acceptance.

109. Thinking.

110. 
     

111. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): On the first platform, I feel the burn in my muscles. On the fifth, I feel the weight in my soul. And I learn that both are necessary to keep me afloat.

112. 
     

113. Reflecting.

114. 
     

115. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The fifth platform is a blank canvas at the edge of the world, where the ink of my memories spills into the sea.

116. 
     

117.  FADE OUT

118. 
     

119. END