The Jade White Orchid Tree Project

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. LIVING ROOM - 14:45

6. 
   

7. Modest and tidy. PETER sits on a sofa, completing his daily Duolingo streak in Spanish. He glances at the window.

8. 
   

9. PETER (V.O.): It seems the rest of the day will be dry.

10. 
    

11. A message concerning The Jade White Orchid Tree Project pops up in his WhatsApp group chat.

12. 
    

13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Starting at 15:30?

14. 
    

15. Peter types his reply on screen: I'll rush back. He closes his Duolingo app with a decisive click

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Duolingo counts days. The tree project counts what matters.

18. 
    

19. He grabs his car keys.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Brother #1 meant to do that last Tueday. I meant to join. But it was called off due to rainstorms

22. 
    

23.  Act 2

24. 
    

25. EXT. ROADS TO TIN SUM - CONTINUOUS

26. 
    

27. Peter drives a Previa. The landscape transitions from city to suburban. The clouds are still thick, but the air feels clean.

28. 
    

29. PETER (V.O.): About a fortnight ago, my brothers and a friend were cutting the top trunk section of the 30-feet tall tree.

30. 
    

31. Pausing.

32. 
    

33. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I was notified and could understand that as a typhoon was appraoching.

34. 
    

35. Pausing.

36. 
    

37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): We couldn't afford to wait. It wasn't safe for our neighbours...their house...the corrugated metal roof...

38. 
    

39. Pausing.

40. 
    

41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Months ago, we agreed to hire professionals to do that and we had good money set aside.

42. 
    

43. INT. HOME, TIN SUM - 16:00

44. 
    

45. Peter arrives and enters a plot of land. The garden is a wild overgrown mess.

46. 
    

47. PETER (V.O.): OMG!

48. 
    

49. BROTHERS#1 and #2 appear with chainsaws in hand. They lead Peter to the far corner to see the remainder of a 20-feet stump standing starkly against the sky.

50. 
    

51. BROTHER#1: When Dad planted it, it was tiny.

52. 
    

53. PETER: Yes, that was in the late 1960s.

54. 
    

55. BROTHER#2: Dad planted it for Mum because she loved the scent.

56. 
    

57. PETER: Yes... but let me work on the garden first.

58. 
    

59. PETER (V.O.): I can't bear the choking weeds and the overgrown fence.

60. 
    

61. Peter grabs a heavy-duty sickle.

62. 
    

63. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): It was our garden, our parents' land.

64. 
    

65. Peter attacks the wild growth with a vengeance. He rips out vines, cuts down rogue shrubs, and hacks the fence line with controlled fury, clearing a space. Sweat pours down his face.

66. 
    

67. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I feel fine now.

68. 
    

69. He walks over to his brothers. Brother #2 is on a ladder, pulling some branches away from the neighbour's house but loosing his balance. He falls.

70. 
    

71. PETER: OMG! Are you okay?

72. 
    

73. BROTHER#2; I land on my feet...Don't repeat my mistake.

74. 
    

75. Brother #1 takes his place. chainsaw in his hands. Peter holds the ladder and his brother's feet.

76. 
    

77. BROTHER#1: The easy cutting is almost complete... but the next target is challenging.

78. 
    

79. He climbs down, wiping his brow. He then points up to part of the trunk.

80. 
    

81. BROTHER#1: I need to put cut branches as buffers to protect the roof of our neighbour's house should it fall over there.

82. 
    

83. PETER: I think we need to control its fall precisely. We've ropes, right?

84. 
    

85. He follows Brother#1 to a shed to fetch a strength of ropes. He ties a careful loop-a lasso-with a sliding knot-at one end.

86. 
    

87. PETER (Cont'd):Brother, use the extendable saw to hang the lasso onto the trunk.

88. 
    

89. As it catches perfectly, Peter clinches it tight.

90. 
    

91. PETER (Cont'd): We can now guide where it falls, not just cut and hope.

92. 
    

93. As the blade bites into wood, it begins to groan.

94. 
    

95. BROTHER#2: It's going!

96. 
    

97. The trunk crashes away from their neighbour's house. All smile.

98. 
    

99. PETER (V.O.): I watched Western films as a boy. I tied a lasso as an old man. Some dreams just take 60 years to prove useful.

100. 
     

101. BROTHER#1: We've to do this ourselves because the professional we meant to hire died before he was supposed to come.

102. 
     

103. Act 3

104. 
     

105. INT. BEDROOM - 21:45

106. 
     

107. Peter uploads an image to a draft on his laptop. It shows a jade white orchid tree's branches and leaves while a cowboy lasso and an extendable saw are positioned against the limbs.

108. 
     

109. PETER (V.O.): Brother #2 fell and got back up.  Brother #1 carried the weight of a dead man's promise alone. I held the ladder and the legs of Brother#1. That's what brothers do. We hold.

110. 
     

111. Thinking.

112. 
     

113. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My brothers and I know we're also holding each other's fragile, aging, stubborn hearts.

114. 
     

115. Reflecting.

116. 
     

117. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The Jade White Orchid tree was planted for love. A large part of it is being cut down for safety. But the love never fell, it only changed shape.

118. 
     

119. The END

120. 
     

121. FADE OUT