The Illusion of Perpetuity

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. BEDROOM - 07:47

6. 
   

7. Sunlight filters through the curtains. Sitting up in bed. PETER stares at a photo on his phone screen.

8. 
   

9. PETER (V.O.): Yesterday, Jimmy sent me the photo, asking me if I'd recognize the gentleman sitting next to him over lunch, as he said he knew me.

10. 
    

11. Pausing.

12. 
    

13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): He's Christopher, the German IP lawyer from Munich. He looks the same as I last saw him in 2013.

14. 
    

15. Pausing.

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Jimmy remarked that he first met Christopher back in 1987 in London, when he was doing his LLM. And the second time they met was a day ago, in Hong Kong.

18. 
    

19. Peter sets the phone down.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): From 1986-1987, I pursued my second LLM in London. When they first met, I had already returned to work in Hong Kong.

22. 
    

23. Recalling.

24. 
    

25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I first became acquainted with Christopher in the 2000s. We shared the common goal of conducting comparative legal analysis in IP.

26. 
    

27. Act 2

28. 
    

29. FLASHBACK

30. 
    

31. EXT. PUB, RUSSEL SQUARE - DAY (End August, 1987)

32. 
    

33. A group of international STUDENTS, including Peter (33), gathers around a rectangular table scattered with beers and peasuts. They're shaking hands, hugging.

34. 
    

35. PETER (V.O.): We've been together for a year now. It feels just like another day. The world is small for people like us.

36. 
    

37. INT. CHINA TOWN - NIGHT (End August, 1987)

38. 
    

39. Peter and JOHNSTON (24) finish their Chinese dinner.

40. 
    

41. JOHNSTON: I'm returning to Toronto. This isn't goodbye. It's just see you later.

42. 
    

43. PETER: We'll see each other again, either in Hong Kong or Toronto.

44. 
    

45. MONTAGE OF PETER'S FIRST REUNION MONTHS LATER

46. 
    

47. A. Restaurant - Night. Peter and his wife SHARON are having dinner with LIZA.

48. 
    

49. B. Apartment - Night. Liza and her PARENTS chat with Peter and his wife.

50. 
    

51. RETURN TO PRESENT

52. 
    

53. PETER (V.O.): It's a delightful surprise that Liza secured a law lectureship at the HKPolytechnic immediate after completing her LLM.

54. 
    

55. Pausing.

56. 
    

57. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When Sharon and I joined a package tour to US and Canada in the summer of 1989, the only place in Canada we visited was Liza's home in Vancouver.

58. 
    

59. Sighing.

60. 
    

61. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But I heard no more of Liza after 1990.

62. 
    

63. Recalling.

64. 
    

65. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): While Liza was still in Hong Kong, Chris from Malta stopped by during his honeymoon with his flight attendant wife.

66. 
    

67. Recalling,

68. 
    

69. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I took them to meals, to visit the walled village in Kam Tin and to Lok Ma Chau for a glimpse of mainland China.

70. 
    

71. Pausing.

72. 
    

73. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And around that time, Tak Chung from Penang sent me and my wife an invitation to his wedding banquet.

74. 
    

75. Recalling.

76. 
    

77. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was very busy working in the Attorney General's Chambers. We flew in on Saturday, attended the banquet, stayed at his home, and flew back to Hong Kong the following day.

78. 
    

79. Pausing.

80. 
    

81. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The two families maintained regular contacts in Hong Kong or in Malaysia until Tak Chung's parents passed away.

82. 
    

83. Recalling.

84. 
    

85. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In 1996, Chitu from S Africa and Montreal, paid me a visit while on a duty trip to Macao...however, I've since lost touch with him.

86. 
    

87. Pausing.

88. 
    

89. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In Autumn, 2019, I flew to Victoria to reunite with Brian and stayed at his home. He and his wife took me to Tofino, where I had my first canoeing experience.

90. 
    

91. Pausing.

92. 
    

93. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Whenever I practise Spanish, I think of Alberto from Madrid and Enrique from Argentina.

94. 
    

95. Recalling.

96. 
    

97. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): When I practise Italian, I think of Alessandro... Incidentally, Christopher speaks Japanese too.

98. 
    

99. Pausing.

100. 
     

101. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We part in the springtime of our lives, certain the paths will cross again, never realizing we're seeds scattered to differeent winds.

102. 
     

103. Act 3

104. 
     

105. INT. BEDROOM - 21:30

106. 
     

107. Peter uploads an image depicting crashing waves on the Silverstrand beach to a draft on his laptop.

108. 
     

109. PETER (V.O.): The ocean's greatest lie is that every crashing wave is a return. The truth is, each one is the first and final performance, never to be repeated.

110. 
     

111. Thinking.

112. 
     

113. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A lifetime of connections isn't a tapestry of enduring threads, but a series of brilliant, solitary knots - tightly bound for a moment, then left to hang alone.

114. 
     

115. Reflecting.

116. 
     

117. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The illusion of perpetuity is the gentle lie that allows us to connect deeply, without being paralyzed by the certainty of loss.

118. 
     

119. FADE OUT

120. 
     

121. END