The Ritual of Recovery

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. INT. BEDROOM - 7:45

6. 
   

7. Early morning light, soft and greyish blue, seeps through the curtains. PETER lies on his back in bed, eyes open.

8. 
   

9. PETER (V.O.): Hmm, I've slept very well.

10. 
    

11. He begins to turn onto his side.

12. 
    

13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): For the past six days, I've been very careful, trying to avoid the ache in my lower back.

14. 
    

15. He pauses half-way, and then completes the turn.

16. 
    

17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): No spike of pain?

18. 
    

19. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Peter places his hands on his knees and pushes himself to his feet.

20. 
    

21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Provisional discharge granted.

22. 
    

23. Peter stands by the bed, a faint, incredulous smile on his face.

24. 
    

25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The most profound healing often whispers. It's the absence of pain, the return of a forgotten motion, a full night's silent sleep.

26. 
    

27. Act 2

28. 
    

29. EXT. MTR CABIN - 8:45

30. 
    

31. Peter sits on a priority seat, scrolling on his phone. He types: Back strain recovery time. He reads, his lips moving slightly.

32. 
    

33. PETER (V.O.): Mild, moderate, severe. Limits my bending...mild-to-moderate category.

34. 
    

35. Reading.

36. 
    

37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Recovery: at least a week. Depends on...physique. And therapy.

38. 
    

39. Peter looks up, considering.

40. 
    

41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My daily swim. That's the therapy.

42. 
    

43. INT. OFFICE - 13:00

44. 
    

45. Quiet, orderly room. Peter watches a video clip intensely at a desktop, papers spread before him.

46. 
    

47. PETER (V.O.): Okay, I've examined the crime scene.

48. 
    

49. He closes a file, stretches his back again - a conscious, grateful movement - and stands.

50. 
    

51. INT. SUSHIRO - 14:15

52. 
    

53. Peter sits at a bar table, savouring a piece of toro.

54. 
    

55. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): A simple, perfect celebration.

56. 
    

57. EXT. YUEN LONG SWIMMING POOL - 16:45

58. 
    

59. The outdoor pool shimmers. Peter swims length after length with a steady economic breaststrokes freestyle and backstrokes.

60. 
    

61. PETER (V.O.): This isn't exercise; it's restoration.

62. 
    

63. Before he climbs up the pool, Peter does a few gentle undulating dophin kicks.

64. 
    

65. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Recovery is measured in subtractions: one less ache, one less limitation, one less fear.

66. 
    

67. INT. PETER'S NT HOME - 18:15

68. 
    

69. G/F. Peter sits upright on a sofa with a red Fender Stratocaster, its back plate off. He uses a small screwdriver to replace a 9-volt battery.

70. 
    

71. PETER (V.O.): Passive pick ups use magnets and coils to generate a signal. This guitar has active pick-ups and needs a 9-volt battery to boost the signal. A weak battery makes the sound quieter, duller, and eventualluy distorted or cutting out entirely.

72. 
    

73. Peter plugs it in, strums a clean chord. Nods, satisfied. He then moves to a digital Clavinova keyboard.

74. 
    

75. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me play the jazz standard: Satin Doll.

76. 
    

77. The swing rhythm is relaxed. Peter smiles. He then goes up to the 1/F and sits at an upright Yamaha piano.

78. 
    

79. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Let me play my favourite: A Summer Place.

80. 
    

81. The tone is warm, nostalgic. But a stubborn key sticks on a final chord,

82. 
    

83. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Again?

84. 
    

85. Peter fetches a bottle of baby powder, carefully dusts the offending key's sides, works it up and down. He then goes up to the 2/F, takes a drum seat and picks up the sticks.

86. 
    

87. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I haven't played drums for decades.

88. 
    

89. Peter executes a few drum rolls.

90. 
    

91. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The ritual succeeds when it ceases to be just about mending a break, and becomes again about maintaining a life.

92. 
    

93. EXT. BUS STOP - 19:00

94. 
    

95. Sitting on a bench, Peter is focused on his phone. He quickly completes Duolingo lessons in Italian, Korean and Japanese. The bus arrives.

96. 
    

97. Wearing a pair of closed-back headphones, Peter boards the bus.

98. 
    

99. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Today, a series of deliberate, healing steps. When I'm home, I still have to do Portuguese, German...

100. 
     

101. Act 3

102. 
     

103. INT. BEDROOM - 22:00

105. Peter uploads a photo capturing a setting sun partially obscured by part of the Yuen Long Swimming Pool, creating a lens flare effect to a draft on his laptop.

106. 
     

107. PETER (V.O.): The ritual begins with a truce: agreement to listen to the body instead of fighting it.

108. 
     

109. Thinking.

110. 
     

111. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Patience isn't waiting passively, it's the active ingredient in every ritual of recovery.

112. 
     

113. Reflecting.

114. 
     

115. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The ritual of recovery is the gentle alignment of daily orbit around the sun of my own well-being.

116. 
     

117. The END

118. 
     

119. FADE OUT