The Personal Dessert

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. LIVING ROOM - 11:30

6. 
   

7. Sunlight streams through the windows at an angle. PETER sits on a sofa, glancing at the screen of his smartphone.

8. 
   

9. PETER (V.O.): Another e-greeting, another virtual wish for the season.

10. 
    

11. Pausing.

12. 
    

13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I received numerous X'mas greetings before the winter solstice. It's my practice to reply to each wish, but I do so only after the solstice has passed.

14. 
    

15. Pausing.

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe the best "thank you" is a personal creation.

18. 
    

19. Pausing.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And I'll respond with a short screenplay on season's greetings titled "The Personal Dessert".

22. 
    

23. Act 2

24. 
    

25. MONTAGE (1980s)

26. 
    

27. A. Paper store. Peter (30s) meticulously selects boxes of elegant, embossed X'mas cards.

28. 
    

29. B. Home. Peter writes the names of the recipients

    and signs a stack of these.

30. 
    

31. C. Post Office. Peter drops a thick bundle of cards into a mailbox.

32. 
    

33. END MONTAGE

34. 
    

35. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the early 1990s, I started to incorporate my annual progress into the cards.

36. 
    

37. Recalling.

38. 
    

39. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Eventually, I started to receive e-greeting cards.

40. 
    

41. Pausing.

42. 
    

43. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Initially, accessing to the attached file proved to be quite a challenge.

44. 
    

45. Pausing.

46. 
    

47. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Once I managed to open it, I found that the messages and the artworks were remarkably similar.

48. 
    

49. Pausing.

50. 
    

51. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Instead of sharing that experience, I chose to send my user-friendly e-family newsletter.

52. 
    

53. Pausing.

54. 
    

55. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Encouraged by the positive feedback, I dedicated considerable effort to crafting my family story, detailing the challenges and resolutions.

56. 
    

57. Pausing.

58. 
    

59. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I also sought my family members' approval before sharing it.

60. 
    

61. FLASHBACK

62. 
    

63. INT. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY DEPT - 13:45 (Dec 22, 2013)

64. 
    

65. Open space. The Office X'mas party is winding down. Paper plates. Empty cups. Peter returns to his office and sits before his computer.

66. 
    

67. PETER (V.O.): Alright, the party's dessert is gone. I'm going to offer my personal dessert.

68. 
    

69. Peter hits SEND of Peter's season's greetings 2013 to all his colleagues and contacts.

70. 
    

71. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The main course is obligation. The personal dessert is the part people stay for. I stop feeding my colleagues with information, and start serving them joy.

72. 
    

73. Pausing.

74. 
    

75. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): This will be my final proactive communication with my colleagues and contacts, as I'll be retiring in mid-2014.

76. 
    

77. RETURN TO PRESENT

78. 
    

79. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Retirement or a change of life stage doesn't end my creativity.

80. 
    

81. Recalling.

82. 
    

83. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Weeks after ceasing active service, I completed my feature screenplay titled "24 Hours Before and After", documenting my emotions.

84. 
    

85. Pausing.

86. 
    

87. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I then established a daily routine focused on writing my docudrama in screenplay format.

88. 
    

89. Thinking.

90. 
    

91. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My journey from civil servant to family chronicler to solitary playwright shows that personal art can thrive when external professional identities fade into the background.

92. 
    

93. Pausing.

94. 
    

95. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Technology changes the medium (paper cards to e-cards to family newsletter to personal screenplays) but the impulse to connect remains timeless and human.

96. 
    

97. Pausing.

98. 
    

99. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):  I'm still holding onto the X'mas cards I received, having only discarded the impersonal ones that didn't include my name.

100. 
     

101. Act 3

102. 
     

103. INT. LIVING ROOM - 21:30

104. 
     

105. Peter uploads a photo of an elegant dessert presentation alongside a small nameplate reading "Peter Cheung" to a draft on his laptop.

106. 
     

107. PETER (V.O.): The world will always focus on the essentials - like reports. The personal dessert I offer comes after everything else, showing that my life is about more than just obligations.

108. 
     

109. Thinking.

110. 
     

111. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In our fast-paced world of quick messages, making a personal dessert is a thoughtful gesture. I'm creating a memorable experience, savoring each spoonful.

112. 
     

113. Reflecting.

114. 
     

115. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe that a legacy isn't formed by institutional minutes, but rather in the after-party of my life, when I bring out the one thing only I can make.

116. 
     

117. END

118. 
     

119. FADE OUT