The Fix
- Peter K F Cheung SBS
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
FADE IN
Act 1
INT. LIVING ROOM - 10:00
Morning light filters through the window. PETER, without glasses, sits on a sofa, speaking to his smartphone
PETER (V.O.): How do I say "springs" in Spanish?
PETER: Primaveras.
Peter taps the check bar. We hear a triumphant sound.
PETER (V.O.): The next one is about matching pairs.
Peter taps the box labelled "course" on the left and "curso" on the right...
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I' ve no problem with these.
He smiles, satisfied. We also see part of his glasses resting beside him. Peter shifts slightly to pick them up.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): OMG!
Peter notices the left temple of his glasses is bent at a sickening 180-degree angle, pointng horribly outward.
Act 2
INT. LIVING ROOM/BATHROOM - 12:00
As his WIFE appears, a distressed Peter shows her the cracked and twisted temple of his glasses.
WIFE: You must have seated on them.
PETER: My fingers aren't assisting me.
WIFE: Take them back to the original optical shop to get them repaired.
PETER: My son and I will head to Tin Sum in an hour...Please let me have any available tools to fix them.
His wife retreives a pair of small pliers and a medium-sized pair for him.
WIFE: But I think you'd break the temple.
Using one of the pliers, Peter applies pressure to the cracked temple near the hinge.
PETER (V.O.): I want to straighten it, but nothing happened.
When Peter applies more pressure, some of the finish on the temple began to chip away.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Panic is the second damage. Calm is the second chance.
Peter stares at the ruined finish.
PETER: OMG, I need a tube of super glue.
His wife provides one to him.
WIFE: You should have taken it to the shop. Now it's truly...
PETER (V.O.): The first step to fixing anything is the quiet courage to declare: There is nothing left to lose.
Peter examines the thing again.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Although the temple is bent and scarred, it's still attached by the core's brushed metal.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's not broken. Not yet.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.): It's been my loyal companion for nearly two years.
With firm pressure, Peter applies the medium-sized pliers on either side of the temple's bend.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Oh, I've straightened the twisted temple a bit.
He tries again, the temple is almost straight.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I can see a scar along its length...Now the super glue to fix the chipped finish.
Peter squeezes the tube and maneuvers the tiny, clear droplet with intense concentration. He applies it beneath the lifted veneer, and then lets go of the temple.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): No, that's no good. Let me try again.
He applies several more droplets of super glue to the damaged area.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It's definitely not perfect. But I accept it.
Suddenly, Peter is horrified to discover that two droplets have somehow landed on the left lens of the glasses.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A fixed frame with ruined lens is a total loss. All this effort for nothing?
Peter takes his glasses to the bathroom, grabs a wet cloth and rubs frantically at the clouded patches of the lens.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I don't fix the thing, I fix my relationship to the thing.
Pausing.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My history isn't in what I've bought, but in what I've refused to throw away.
Act 3
INT. LIVING ROOM - 21:45
Peter uploads an image depicting his hand holding a pair of round black glasses while he was waiting for his son to pick him up to a draft on his laptop.
PETER (V.O.): A good fix isn't measured by its invisibility, but by its integrity. The courage is in wearing the repair, not hiding it.
Thinking.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The fix didn't just mend the temple; it revealed the steel. The most important repairs show me what was strong all along.
Reflecting.
PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Sometimes, a fix leaves its mark on the temple of my glasses. I learn to look not at the flaw, but through it, to the whole world it helps me save.
The END
FADE OUT
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