The Geometry of Happiness

1. FADE IN

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3. Act 1

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5. INT. LIVING ROOM - 13:15

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7. PETER and his WIFE stand by the door, carrying bags in red.

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9. PETER (V.O.): We're going to have afternoon tea with my wife's maternal parents.

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11. Pausing.

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13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Our practice has been to visit them once a year, but today's visit is extraordinary.

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15. Pausing.

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17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Having completed our elder daughter's betrothal ceremony, we've to share traditional wedding cakes with relatives.

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19. Pausing.

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21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And my wife has spent a lot of effort to prepare the wedding banquet invitation cards.

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23. Act 2

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25. INT. YAT HOU HIN - 14:30

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27. Sounds of clattering trolley wheels and conversations. A round table for five, crowded with bamboo steamers, plates and teacups. Peter pours pu-erh tea for his wife, his wife's maternal PARENTS (90s) and younger SISTER.

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29. WiFE: Our elder daughter's betrothal ceremony took place last Sunday. We'd love to share some traditional wedding cakes with you and other family members.

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31. Peter's wife presents a large red box adorned with golden ribbons. Her parents look delighted.

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33. WIFE: Here're the formal invitation cards for the wedding bankquet in Hong Kong.

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35. PETER: Please let Mom and Dad know about our son, the doctor.

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37. WIFE: He's returning to Hong Kong to practise; and just a few days ago, he obtained his private pilot licence!

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39. WIFE'S MOM: Congratulations! Your children have inherited wonderful genes.

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41. WIFE'S MOM (Cont'd) (to Peter): Your mother. How's she?

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43. Peter taps on his phone screen and we see a photo of an old woman with a radiant smile.

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45. PETER: Here. She's well and happy, although she no longer recognizes us.

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47. WIFE: Something has taken all the names and faces from her.

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49. Wife's Mom stares at the photo, then at Peter. Her facial expression reveals a look of bewildered confusion.

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51. WIFE'S MOM: How can she be happy without knowing her children?

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53. PETER: She lives in the moment. She has no worries, no fears...

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55. WIFE'S MOM: If she doesn't remember the family she built, what's there to be happy about?

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57. Pausing.

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59. WIFE's MOM (Cont'd): A mother's happiness is her children. To see them. To know they're safe. To remember them as babies...

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61. Wife's Mom looks at Peter's wife.

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63. WIFE's MOM (Cont'd): Then, we had nothing, only your two elder sisters and two elder brothers...and then you.

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65. Pausing.

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67. WIFE's MOM (Cont'd): My sister wanted to adopt you and her husband had a good business.

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69. Pausing.

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71. WIFE's MOM (Cont'd): It was the right thing to do, and we agreed.

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73. PETER (V.O.): Survival and pragmaticism often override emotion in difficult circumstances.

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75. Peter's wife listens, her face still. She has heard it before. She is quiet for a long moment.

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77. WIFE (analytically) : I was the youngest. The extra one. Of course, I was the one to go.

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79. WIFE (Cont'd): It was a mathmatical decision. One less child to feed. And I went to a good home.

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81. Peters wife makes a dry, quiet laugh.

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83. WIFE (Cont'd): When I was a girl, for school, for anything official...I had to use my adoption papers. Everytime.

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85. Pausing.

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87. WIFE (Cont'd): The teacher or official would call my name, and I'd have to walk up and present the legal document to prove who I was supposed to be.

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89. Pausing.

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91. WIFE (Cont'd): It was always so embarrassing. It singled me out. It was a proof I was passed around. Like a parcel.

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93. Peter doesn't speak but reaches over to take her hand.

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95. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Happiness isn't a fixed point on a map, but the angle from which one views the landscape of one's life.

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97. Pausing.

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99. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Even a "good" and "logical" decision can create a lasting sense of otherness and personal confusion for the adopted child - why me?

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101. Act 3

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103. INT. LIVING ROOM - 22:00

105. Peter uploads an image of his Mom with her hand over her face to a draft on his laptop.

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107. PETER (V.O.): The geometry of happiness is non-Euclidean, sometimes the shortest path to joy is a curve, not a straight line.

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109. Thinking.

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111. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The past and future are parallel lines that never meet. Happiness is the unique point where they converge: the present.

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113. Reflecting.

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115. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A happy life isn't a perfect square with right angles, but an organic, asymmetrical shape, beautifual in its flaws.

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117.  FADE OUT

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119. END